Discovery for a New Student
by Wolf-Redlance
Summary: A student comes to Hogwarts, transferring from France. After some time to get used to this new school, a sign is left for him to find that troubles him. What is the link behind it and how does it relate to his legacy? AU as pre HBP. Mainly OCs. R&R please
1. Chapter 1

**Discovery for a new student**

_Setting takes place after book 5 as Hogwart is beginning a new school year. The main character of this fic is my own creation so please ask me before you use him (woops! gave a clue out here). Some of the characters in this story have been created by JKR and are her own._

Disclaimer: This story is taking place in an alternate time line. It was started before HPB came out and so the events of that book never happened in this story and never will. Alternate Universe. This timeline was created by Entropist, a fellow fic writer on the Snitch (thesnitch(dot)co(dot)uk(slash)forums) and I use it with his agreement.

**Chapter 1: Green eyes**

It was start of term for the students of Hogwarts, the wizard school of England, and children of all years were pushing their trolleys, going inside wagons or saying goodbye to their parents. It was the start of yet another school year but this one had a darker tone to it. The Dark Lord had been confirmed as returned the previous year and while he had been defeated in his attempt to secure a powerful weapon then, he was not gone and the wizard world was again in fear. Most of the students knew this of course but they also knew that Hogwarts was possibly the safest place to be for the moment. It's headmaster was Albus Dumbledore, one of, if not the most powerful wizard of the world and it was known that the Dark Lord would not risk an attack on it if he was not at full strength.

In one of the compartments of the train sat a young boy of 16. He was still alone there, having arrived an hour early. He had a fair face. His long light brown hair were tied in a ponytail that reached down to his shoulders and had several silver streaks in it. He was dressed in a normal Muggle clothing but had a gray wizard cloak around him that held with a sliver leaf brooch which his left hand was absent-mindedly tapping. His deep green eyes were lost in thoughts, looking out of the compartment window, his chin resting in the palm of his right hand.

He was not an English kid, at least not yet. His parents had been called from France by the English Ministry of Magic. His father was a renown wizard that had a knack with plants and knowing what they needed. His mother was an expert healer and had immediately found a job a St Mungo's hospital. He thus had to go with them and leave his French wizard school but had been accepted as a 6th year student in Hogwarts. "I'll never get a hang of this country" He thought "Everything is so different! They drive on the wrong side of the road the whole time. I almost got run over three times on my way to the station... I need to remember to look on the right when I cross a street." He was so deep on thinking to himself of the differences between his him and this new country that he did not hear the compartment door opening and the small knock on it that wanted to attract his attention.

"Excuse me?" a small voice said "Is this compartment fully occupied?"

The boy turned around, startled. A young girl of perhaps 13 was standing in the doorway.

"Huh? Oh, sorry! I was somewhere else completely!" He said hurriedly "Apart from my seat, this compartment is fully free and can be used."

"Oh good!" The young girl smiled and came in pulling her trunk behind her.

Seeing the size of the trunk, the boy stood up and helped her putting it in the overhead rack.

"Thank you." She said, sitting down in the seat in front of his. "I am Eleanor Swift. 3rd year Ravenclaw at Hogwarts." She added, extending her hand.

"Yannick Silverleaf." He responded, taking her hand and giving it a gentle and polite shake. "starting 6th year a a student at Hogwarts."

"6th year?" she asked arching one of her black eyebrow. "That is odd, I don't recall seeing you before in Hogwarts."

"That's because my parents just moved to England. I was schooled in Morbihan's School of Wizardry, in the French region of Brittany before. I am starting this year at Hogwarts."

"Ooooh... that sounds fascinating. How is it down there? What sort of magical arts do you learn?"

And the conversation was started between both, he telling her of his wizard school in France an her explaining how Hogwarts was and what to expect.

As they talked several other Ravenclaw 3rd years came in the compartment and Eleanor introduced them to Yannick. He continued answering the questions asked to him about his school and learned more from Hogwarts and how the teachers were there. They warned him about a certain Snape, who taught potion in Hogwarts and as they described him, Yannick started to compare this Snape to two of the professors of his own school. Good laughs were exchanged during the entire journey to Hogwarts as they played several games wizard games, and where Yannick discovered that he was not as good as he thought at wizard chess, being beaten thrice in a row by a young boy with raven hair. Still, he enjoyed his time and was surprised when he heard the voice in the corridor announcing the arrival to Hogwarts in 10 minutes. They all changed to their house robes, except Yannick, who not knowing which house he would be put into, decided to stay in the clothes he was wearing. On his way out of the compartment he took a long green bag with him.

"You don't need to take your things with you" one of the Ravenclaws that had been in the same compartment told him "They get sent straight to your room in Hogwarts and you will find them there when you arrive."

"Oh, its alright" He answered "I usually do not let this bag around when I travel. Family heirloom of some sort." he added.

The Ravenclaw nodded at the answer

"No problem then, see you at the feast. I wonder in which house you will go... Hopefully not in Slytherin." He added with a wink and then left.

Yannick stepped out of the compartment and followed the flow of students out of the train and towards the waiting horse carriages of Hogwarts. We he saw them at first he thought of a practical joke being played, seeing the carriages waiting for the students but having no horses to pull them. Although he finally decided that it was not a joke when he saw the students going in them without saying anything. "I'll have to send an Owl on this to my friends back home." he though "This is a funny experience, to say the least." The carriages continued their horse-less travel until they arrive to the Hogwarts castle.

The castle itself was impressive by its own size. Yannick stood there, looking at it gaping, oblivious to the amused looks and snide remarks this behavior earned him from the other Hogwarts students. He was shaken out of his wonder by a stern voice.

"Mr. Silverleaf?"

He turned to face a witch in her late years. She had her brownish-gray hair tied in a bun and was wearing a deep Burgundy wizard robe.

"I am professor McGonagall," she continued, seeing that she had his attention "the assistant Headmistress of this school and head of the Gryffindor house. The headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, would like to see you before the welcome feast begins. If you will please follow me."

She led him through the hall of the castle and took several turns in different corridors until they arrived in front of a gargoyle-like statue. There the professor spoke a password and the gargoyle statue started going upwards, revealing a circular staircase as it went up. Yannick followed the professor as she went up the stairs and they then entered into a circular room. Most prominent in the room was the desk of the headmaster, who however was not sitting at it at the moment. In fact as Yannick looked around, he could not see him in the room either.

"Ah! Our new 6th year student." a calm voice said.

He turned towards the voice to see the man he recognized as Albus Dumbledore, going down the steps from a room that was apparently his study.

"I trust your travel has been pleasant, I hear that Ravenclaws can be very good company if you want to talk" He added with a twinkle in his eyes, looking slightly amused at the surprised expression on Yannick's face from this comment.

"Do not worry Mr. Silverleaf, there is little that happens around here that I do not know and this includes the Hogwarts Express." Dumbledore sat at his desk "Now, this will not take long so do not bother to sit down. I have with me a recommendation letter from you former Headmaster, Mr Petti...boy? Is that right?"

"Mr Petitbois, sir" Yannick answered.

"Ah yes! That's right. He says that you took your OWL exams last year and that you achieved either O or E in all except in two fields out of seven. That was transfiguration... I am sure professor McGonagall here will be able to help you on that... and divination... no surprise here... although you might want to attend some of the classes of our recent addition in our teacher's roster, Firenze. I am sure you will find him... intriguing to say the least. Now, you want to become an Auror, is that right?"

"Yes professor."

"Well, seeing your marks, I say you will need to attend remedial transfiguration and you should be all set. Do you have any further questions?"

"Yes sir, just one." Yannick started "In my former school we were training daily on archery, an old tradition from where we come from. I have brought my things with me," he added, pointing at the long green bag he had taken with him when going out of the train "but I would like to ask first if it is possible for me to continue my training while I am here in Hogwarts. I would hate to loose my skill."

Dumbledore sat back in his chair in his chair thinking.

"I do not really see any problem with this Mr. Silverleaf, on one condition only. I trust that you can take the metallic point off the arrow's shaft?"

Yannick nodded

"As long as your arrows have no points which could harm one of my students, I do not see any problems with this. A friend of mine used to say that it is better to know other ways of fighting than only with a wand. Well, I guess it is time for us to join the rest of the School in the dinner hall. The first years are on the point of arriving and Professor McGonagall here needs to be there to receive them. I will see you at the feast Mr. Silverleaf and I do hope you enjoy your first year at Hogwarts."

"Thank you sir" Yannick said before turning to follow professor McGonagall out of the room.

He was about to step out of the room when Dumbledore spoke to him one last time.

"Oh, I almost forgot Mr Silverleaf. Our Games-keeper has asked me to tell you that your companion has well arrived and is right now enjoying itself in the forbidden forest. It is a very nice animal and looks very intelligent. You should present me to it one day."

"I will sir" Yannick answered with a thankful smile, before turning and going out of the room towards the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Golden eyes**

Yannick let out a groan of despair and smacked his head on his book, that laid on the table of the common room.

"Life is just not fair!" he thought "Why is it that I understand and can do most of what I learn here and yet be such a dunce when it comes to transfiguration?"

He kept his forehead on the book, "all about transfiguration", that he had borrowed earlier that day from the school's library. His ears picked up a giggle on his left side and he turned his head towards the sound to see a small group of first year girls sitting in a corner talking to each other and giggling.

"I wonder what those four are talking about" He thought.

His eyes took notice of a blonde one in the group which he knew was named Sasha Seriam. She had been sorted into Hufflepuff right before him during the sorting ceremony at the welcoming feast. The sorting hat had also chosen to get him into Hufflepuff as well but after now two weeks, Yannick was still at a loss to understand the reason. He did not think that Hufflepuff was a bad house either. The other students had mostly accepted him and he had gotten along well with professor Sprout, the head of the house. He had promised her to ask his father to send her a copy of his work on the restoration of a French enchanted forest. The common room itself was quite spacious. Its entrance was behind him on his left and a big fireplace had an everlasting fire burning in it, brightly lighting the room. The tone of the room was gold and black, the colors of the Hufflepuff house. He rested his head on his chair's headrest and sighed. His eyes took notice of the chandeliers spaced evenly on the wall in front of him, three branches with a burning candle on each and the Hufflepuff badger engraved where the three branches met. A big coat of arms was in the centre of the wall, and in fact right in front of where he sat. The animated badger and the flapping Hufflepuff banner at the centre of the coat of arms made it look quite impressive.

He heard some noise behind him and saw that Sean, a fellow Hufflepuff he had become friend with, was playing a game of chess with another 6th year, Ernie MacMillan, if his memory served him right, on the round table at the centre of the room, right in front of the fireplace. Sean's tower had just been taken by Ernie's knight and he looked worried about the way his chess defense was going.

He closed the transfiguration book and stretched, only to let out a little yelp of pain from a pain in his back.

"Merlin's beard!" he thought, his right hand massaging the sore spot "Only two weeks into the term and I already visited the hospital wing. It will be a miracle that I survive the year."

He cast his thoughts onto what had caused his visit to the hospital wing. A week after having arrived, he was hurrying to attend his next class. He had had to go back to his common room to get a book he had forgotten and had been hurrying down the staircase only to be hit by something hard in the back of his head. He had then fallen down the stairs and fell flat on his face at the bottom, right in front of some 6th year Slytherins that had been going to their potion class. That group had started to laugh at his mishap and he would have had only a bruised honor if he had not received his school bag in the back right when he was starting to rise up again. That had knocked him out cold and he had awaken in the hospital wing, his back still throbbing with pain. He had found out afterwards from, Sean, that it was Peeves that had taken him for target practice as he was going down the stairs and what had hit him had been a cricket ball.

"Bloody ghost is a menace if you ask me," Sean had said to Yannick, who had heartily agreed.

He looked at his watch and saw that he had still two whole hours before the curfew.

"I am not getting anything done right now." He thought picking up his homework things. "Maybe some fresh air will do me good."

He stood up with his things and passed by the armchair where Sean was sitting, considering his next move. He took a look at the way the game was going, Sean was in a very awkward position and Ernie could get him mate in a few moves.

"Except if..." Yannick thought and bent down to whisper to Sean's ear "White bishop to E4. That should get him off your back for a while. And do protect your King, he is completely undefended" He added with a wink.

Sean looked at the board and gave a small smile. "Thanks," he whispered back.

"No problem," Yannick answered, heading towards corridor that led to the boy's dormitory.

On his way there he heard Ernie complaining of the move that Sean had just made.

"Hey no fair!" he said, "How can I win if he helps you out when you are in trouble?"

"That's what friends are for Ernie," He heard Sean reply.

He smiled internally at that remark "Thanks Sean."

He went up to his dormitory to pick up his cloak, went out the common room's entrance and headed towards the main hall. He went out the main entrance and headed towards the lake. During his walk there he thought again of the letter he had received from his mother two days before. They had settled in London and work was apparently keeping both of them busy. St Mungo's had registered an increase of magical injuries on Muggles and wizards alike and his father was right now investigating on a new breed of plant that had started to appear in certain places of London. Other than that it had been work as usual for them. He had answered her with a long letter describing Hogwarts and the different things he had discovered during the first two weeks, his sorting into the Hufflepuff house and the rest although he had purposely left out his trip to the hospital wing.

"Mum would have yanked me out of the school in an instant had she learned about her poor Nickie falling down stairs after being attacked by an evil poltergeist" He mused to himself, smiling at his silent remark.

He continued his stroll around the lake and decided to go and see the games-keeper, Hagrid, to see if he could pay a visit in the forest to his companion, who he had only see for a short moments the day after he arrived to Hogwarts. As he was turning to head toward Hagrid's hut he felt a stone connect with the back of his head. He fell over from the force of impact.

"Not again!" He thought, and then shouted, getting up and massaging the spot he had been hit on with his right hand. "Peeves!!! You mangy son of an overgrown GIT!!! I swear if I get my hands on your ghostly form I will hex you so you die again... over and over and..."

He had turned towards where the stone had apparently come from and instead of Peeves he saw a girl running towards him, holding a Quidditch beater club in her right hand.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry," She said when she reached him. "Are you alright?"

"Owwww... Alright? The feeling of getting hit by a stone hurtled at your head is far from alright. Thank you!" he snapped a her. "Am I a friggin' target or something?"

"Please! Don't shout like this!" She answered him, her eyes pleading. "I can understand you are angry. I was not at all aiming towards you. I was aiming towards the lake but my grip slipped and my shot went astray. Please believe me, it was an accident."

He looked at her. She was about the same size as him and was wearing the colors of the Ravenclaw house. Her gold-reddish hair seemed out of place with the mostly blue school uniform she wore. Yannick cursed himself for having reacted harshly.

"Look, I am sorry I snapped at you like this," he said. "It is just... I don't know... it's the second time in as many weeks that I am hit by something and sent sprawling on the floor. I am starting to feel like I am pulling this in." He added sitting down on the slopping ground.

"I can relate on that," she told him taking a seat next to him. "I mean, being a Quidditch player I have had my share of hits a bruises. You get over it after a while."

"I am not really planning on becoming a target to practice on," he said sullenly.

She laughed at his remark

"Don't worry. It was an accident, not intentional. By the way, I am Alexandra Dewitt, 6th year at Hogwarts and beater for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team," She said extending her hand.

He took her hand in his and answered

"Yannick Silverleaf. 6th year as well and from..."

"From Hufflepuff, I know. I saw you at the feast. You are the new French student some third years are talking about the whole time. Heard one of them beat you at wizard chess." She added with a smile, pushing a stray lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Well, I am not that bad either... He was pretty good though" He answered, a bit embarrassed.

"So we are fine then? No hard feelings?" She asked.

"Yeah..." He said, still rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, we are fine. Sorry I snapped at you."

"You already said that" She reminded him. "And forget it. You had every right to be angry. So what were you doing out on the grounds at this time of the day?"

"Taking fresh air guess. I have been the past hour or so trying to pound transfiguration spells in my head and I was not getting anywhere so I decided to take a break." He sighed. "What about you? What is your excuse?"

"Well, I was practising for Quidditch." She told him.

"Why were you not in the field using the standard equipment for that?" He asked her.

"Oh, the field was booked for the whole evening by the Slytherin team. So as I still wanted to practice I took a beater club and was hexing stones towards me and hitting them. As you saw... One of them did not quite land where I intended it to. It is a bit hard to hex and beat at the same time."

"Yeah... I felt that." He said with a smile. Taking out his wand he added. "Tell you what, why don't I hex the stones towards you and you hit them of?"

"Are you sure you will not use that to accidentally get me back for your hit?" She asked him. "Just kidding. I think that could be fine. Are you good at making objects fly?"

"Me? Absolutely!" He answered "It is transfiguration I can't master yet. I literally blew up the tea pot I had to change into a duck last lesson! Earned me some extra homework."

She giggled. "Well okay then." she said getting up "Let's do this, we still have about an hour before we need to head back to the castle."

They set out to practice, Yannick hexing stones one at the time and at different angles towards Alexandra and she hitting them away. A few flew in his direction at some point but a good protego spell deflected each of them.

"Sorry!" He heard her say after he deflected another stone.

"It's okay." He answered "Makes me practice this spell at the same time."

They continued the practice, Alexandra sending the stones flying towards the forbidden forest. Yannick had his back turned and both where oblivious to the fact that they were being watched by two golden eyes.

The sun was starting to set and Alexandra decided to call it off for the day. She had just called time out and Yannick was starting to walk towards her when she saw a dark shape leaping out of the forest and charging him.

"YANNICK! BEHIND YOU!!!" She screamed, reaching for her wand.

He spun around and only had the time to see a black shape bearing down on him at full speed. He then felt a hit in the chest and was falling on his back. He tried to get away but the dark shape was keeping him on the ground, its two golden eyes looking into his own.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Presentations**

Yannick lay there, flat on his back, the two golden eyes still locked with his own. The black shape revealed its white fangs of its mouth. Pitch black coat with some stray sliver hairs here and there.

Yannick muttered "Altair... you scared me out of a years growth you big lug!" looking reproachfully into those two golden eyes. "But yeah... I missed you too." He added, smiling and scratching the animal behind its ear.

"Yannick?" He heard somewhere behind him.

He quickly rolled over to see a worried looking Alexandra who was still pointing her wand towards the animal.

"It is alright Alexandra" He said rising into a crouch next to Altair "He was just playing around."

"He? So this big dog is a he?" She asked

"Actually," He replied "it is not a dog. I know it might sound weird but... it is a wolf."

"A... a wolf?" She asked him, looking a bit worried

"Yes, a wolf. His name is Altair." He continued. "Altair, this is Alexandra." He said pointing at her. "A friend."

The wolf looked at her for a few seconds and then trotted towards her. When it arrived there it presented its right paw to her. Alexandra stood there a bit surprised by the wolf's behavior but then leaned down and took the paw in her right hand, giving it a gentle shake and saying

"Nice to meet you too."

Yannick looked at the two, Alexandra had started to tentatively pet the wolf on its head, still feeling a bit cautious. He rose to his feet and then walked towards them. Alexandra straightened up and looked at him.

"So... you have a wolf as a companion?" She asked

"Yup." He answered.

"But how can that be?" She asked him. "The only animals allowed at Hogwarts as companions are Owls and cats?"

"Well," He started. "That is for Hogwarts. In my French school it could be any tame animal. One of my friends even had a golden eagle. Anyway, Altair here has been my companion since I was 6 years old or so. My father arranged with professor Dumbledore that it would be allowed to stay in the forest while I was at Hogwarts. Hagrid keeps a eye on him."

Alexandra looked again at the black wolf

"It is quite big for a wolf" She pointed out.

Yannick smiled a bit embarrassed and scratched the back of his head

"Well, I take good care of him." He said. "Always have but he free to come and go as he please. I don't own him."

"You talk about it as if it was a person" Alexandra pointed out.

"Well, I have known him for over 10 years now... Our relation is... deep." He answered. "I'll explain you one day if you want," He added quickly, looking at his watch "but right now is not really good as we have less than twenty minutes to go to our common rooms before the curfew."

Alexandra nodded, not fully satisfied by his answer but not saying anything. They set out towards the caste's entrance, followed by Altair.

"That's a nice brooch by the way." Alexandra told him, pointing to the brooch that held his cloak on his shoulders. "Special meaning?"

"Yeah," He answered "It is my family crest, the silver leaf."

"Nice yet simple" She said.

"Thanks, I'll tell my grand-mother that." He told her. "She is the one who made this design some years back, before I went to my first year in wizard school. The old design was not as nice."

"Now your family name makes a bit more sense." She said "Yannick Silverleaf. Emblem a leaf of silver. You should tell me more about the origin of that name one of these days." She added.

"Uh... yeah..." He answered "Maybe I should one day."

They reached the entrance and Yannick looked back at Altair, the wolf clearly wanted to follow him in. He shook is head and crouched next to him.

"Altair, you can't follow me in there and you know that. Dad went over with you what had been agreed with Dumbledore and you need to stick to it, alright?"

The wolf looked at him with pleading eyes, but then came closer and gave him a lick on the cheek and uttered a whine. Yannick took the wolf in an embrace.

"Come on!" He told him jokingly "It is not like you will never see me again. I'll come to see you as much as I can."

The wolf pulled from the embrace and started towards the forest again.

"He does not like to be away from you does he?" He heard Alexandra ask him.

He rose and turned to face her.

"No, he does not at all." He answered "He was allowed into my French school before and he does not really understand why he can't here. I think a lot of student would be afraid of him at first, but try to make him understand that." He added with a small smile.

"Well he did scare me at first," She answered. "but he was quite friendly after."

"Yeah he was." Yannick said "And thanks." He added.

"For what?" she asked him.

"For referring to him as 'he'. I know he prefers that." He told her. "Well, shall we?" He asked, motioning to the entrance.

They entered the castle and Alexandra started towards her common room.

"Thanks for your help tonight, I'll keep you in mind next time I need help on my beater practice." She told him over her shoulder with a smile.

"The pleasure was all mine Alexandra," he answered to her, looking at her going down a corridor and taking a left turn. He stood in the entrance hall, his eyes still on the corridor she had disappeared in. A snort from the entrance door made him turn around. Altair was looking at him from the door.

"I thought I had told you to go to the forest, you spy," he told him with a smile. "Go on now, shoo."

Altair gave him a mischievous look and disappeared from the door's opening, heading towards the forest again. Yannick headed towards the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room. He gave the password to enter and went through the room, towards the corridor of the boy's dormitories. A few students were still up, finishing some homework, but most had gone to be already. He entered the dorm he shared with Sean, halfway down the corridor. His entrance was greeted by an already in bed Sean.

"About bloody time mate!" Sean told him "I was wondering if I had to send a search party for you. Where did you go?"

"Oh, just went out side for a walk." Yannick answered, undressing and getting ready for bed.

"Some walk! You were gone for two whole hours!" Sean answered back. "Met anyone interesting?" He added with a mischievous grin.

"No, just talked with someone for a while. That's all." Yannick answered.

He made a ball of his dirty clothes (Altair had made him fall into some mud) and throwing them into the laundry basket he and Sean shared. He heard the clothes land in the basket that had Hufflepuff's colors and then the distinct sound of them disappearing for wherever clothes got cleaned in Hogwarts.

"Uh...huh..." Sean nodded. "Would this person happen to have gold-reddish hair, very nice blue eyes and be a beater from the Ravenclaw Quidditch team by any chance?"

Yannick looked at him surprised, turning slightly red. "You saw that?"

"That I did mate!" Sean answered with a laugh. "I went looking for you after having beaten Ernie on our wizard chess game, and thanks again for you help on that move by the way, it took me out of a tight spot. Anyway, I saw you two practising her beating skills but preferred to leave you alone."

Yannick sighed, switched off the light in the dorm and went into his bed, that was under Sean's.

"Well thanks for that." he told him.

"You are welcome." Sean answered. "Sooo... Are you planning on inviting her out on a date? The Yule ball maybe?"

"Yule ball?" He asked "What is that again? I am not yet up to par with the different Hogwarts events..."

"Oy! Sorry about that, I forgot." Sean answered. "The Yule ball, it actually started again in my fourth year here, when we had the Tri-wizard tournament. They apparently decided to get it on again this year. It takes place before Christmas and anyone 4th year or above can attend... If he has a date, that is." He added. "So how about asking her?"

"Sean, this is almost three months away." Yannick answered. "We just met. We are just on friendly terms, okay?"

"Suuure you are, Nickie." He heard Sean say.

He punched Sean's mattress above him. "Call me that name again and I will hex you to oblivion. Now shut up and go to sleep will you?"

"Yow! Okay, okay..." He heard Sean say.

"But she is nice, isn't she?" Sean added after a minute of silence.

"Yes she is!" He answered. "There, I said it. Happy now?"

"Yeah, I guess." Sean answered.

After a few minutes, Sean broke the silence again.

"So you are planing on asking her out on the Yule ball?" He asked.

"Sean..." Yannick said. "My wand is in my hand, pointing to your mattress and I am thinking of what to curse it into if you don't shut up and go to sleep."

"I get the message captain!" Sean answered with a laugh. "Goodnight!"

"Yeah... goodnight." He answered back.

Yannick lay there his eyes looking in the dark of the room. Somehow the picture of a fair Ravenclaw girl with gold-reddish hair and blue eyes kept on coming back into his head. Sean had a point, she was very pretty indeed and she had asked questions that showed she was interested, even if just a little. Her pointed question about Altair. Asking him to tell her about his family history later on. But this meant getting closer in relation with a girl, and he was not sure if he wanted that yet. But maybe Sean had a point after all.

"You really ought to ask her out you know." Sean said as if reading his mind.

Yannick let out a French swear word and put his pillow over his head.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Anger and sorrow**

"Wake up sleepyhead!!!" was all that Yannick heard that morning before feeling cold water hit his face. He sat up in his bed with a start, hitting his head on the bed above his at the same time.

"Yaaaaaaaah!! What is the big idea Sean?" He asked his grinning friend. "It is only 9:00 AM and we are Sunday today. Last time I checked, we don't have any lessons on Sunday. I want to sleep more."

"And waste one of the days which has the best Autumn weather we have seen in a long time and also happens to be the day of our first outing to Hogsmead? Mate, you are daft to have this thought while I am your roommate!" Sean answered. "Come on! Get out of bed and get dressed. I'll save you a seat at breakfast and then we're off to Hogsmeade. You'll love it there. And who knows... you might find something to buy for your little sweetheart as well..." he added with a mischievous grin.

"For the last time! She is not my sweetheart!" Yannick said, throwing his pillow at Sean who evaded it and went out the room.

"Sure, whatever Nickie. See you at breakfast!" Sean told him playfully just before closing the door.

Yannick stood up grumbling and went to the boy's common lavatory to take a quick shower to wake himself up fully.

While under the shower he wondered about Sean's behavior. "It has been what... two weeks now since I met with Alexandra and helped her with her beater practice?" He unconsciously rubbed the spot where the stone had hit his head. "I have hardly spoken to her since then... well maybe once or twice in class and in the library... but nothing like the first time. Why is Sean insisting that she is my girlfriend? She's not. We are just... friends at most."

He finished off his shower and went back to his room. He put on fresh and casual clothes for the day, still taking his cloak just in case it got chilly. He then set out to go and eat breakfast.

He noticed that most of the students were already eating when he entered the Great Hall and went to seat by Sean at the Hufflepuff. He did not bother to answer to the questions of some Slytherins that asked him if he had learned to walk down stairs yet. He still felt slightly annoyed by their constant remarks.

"These imbeciles are starting to get on my nerves." He said to Sean as he sat down.

"Who? the Slythers?" Sean asked while helping himself to some more bacon. "Don't worry, they do this to anyone they would like to get in trouble. Just don't react."

"I haven't" He answered. "Yet."

He took eggs and bacon along with a few toasts and poured himself a mug of orange juice. He was halfway through his breakfast when he felt Sean nudge him with his right elbow.

"Babe alert! Two o'clock." He heard him mutter.

He looked up towards the entrance of the Great Hall and saw that Alexandra had just come in. She stood at the entrance, apparently still undecided as to where to sit. Her eyes met his and she gave him a small smile and a discreet wave. He waved back and then saw her going to sit with some other 6th years at the Ravenclaw table. He was still looking at her back when he hear Sean muttering to him.

"Earth to Yannick. Earth to Yannick." Sean said "Stop gawking at her like that mate, you are making a fool of yourself more than anything and are bloody lucky she can't see you now."

Yannick brought his attention to his plate and quickly started to eat again.

"You know mate." Sean told him. "With reactions like these whenever she is around, you are going to have a hard time making me believe that you are not interested in her."

Yannick did not answer. He found it more interesting to separate the fat from his bacon than to answer him.

"Come on Nick, why don't you just talk to her?"

"I have talked to her." Yannick answered sharply.

"Oh yeah! I forgot... Sor-ry!" Sean snorted "Like what? Two? Three times? In two weeks?"

Yannick nodded.

"I also noted that she tried to engage conversation several times with you and each time you found a way to not talk to her." Sean added.

Yannick let out a sigh "Sean, what is your point?"

"My point?" Sean asked. "I'll tell you what my point is you dunce. You have an absolutely gorgeous girl that is sending you hints that she is interested in you and you just shunt her off like she is not even there."

"What if I don't want to get to know her?" Yannick asked.

"Mate are you daft?" Sean asked. "You know how many other guys are running around trying to attract her attention?"

"I don't know and I don't care." He answered.

"Well wake up and smell the roses, Nick." Sean told him. "Because she does."

"Oh, so she does, huh?" He asked Sean sarcastically.

"Yes." Sean answered seriously.

"How the heck do you know that anyway?" Yannick asked.

"Because she told me." Sean answered.

"She told you?" He asked.

"Yes. Two days ago." Sean replied. "When I was in the library. She came to me and asked me what was wrong with you and why you always found a reason not to talk to her."

"And?" Yannick asked, dreading the answer already.

"I told her that you were too shy." Sean answered.

"You told her that?" Yannick answered.

"Well it seemed obvious to me..." Sean started.

Yannick uttered a groan and hid his face in his hands.

"Great!" He said. "Just great! So now I am the shy little Frenchie who is afraid to talk to girls. I bet she laughed at that one." He added.

"She did not." Sean said seriously "She asked if we were planning to go to Hogsmeade this weekend and I told her that we were."

"Oh great. Let me guess." Yannick said.

"She is meeting us this morning with a friend of hers, Heather, I think her name is."

"Great Sean, real great." Yannick said standing up from his seat.

"Woah, where are you going?" Sean asked.

"Going to vent my anger on something that won't scream when it is hit." He answered.

"Wait a minute Nick." Sean said grabbing his arm. "You can't just not come. What will I say to them then?"

Yannick looked at Sean, his eyes were throwing daggers.

"Whatever you want. Now... let... go... of... me." He said slowly and evenly.

Sean, surprised of his friend's reaction, let go of Yannick's arm who then stormed out of the Great Hall, oblivious to the fact that his small outburst and sudden departure had been observed by someone.

He went back to the Hufflepuff common room and stormed to his dorm. There he picked up his long green bag and stormed out again. He did not even hear one of the 3rd years asking him if he was going to Hogsmeade when he left out the common room. He walked out of the castle and went towards the forbidden forest.

He stopped by an ancient elm tree that was planted between the forest and the castle. He conjured an archery target under the tree, something he knew how to do since he was twelve, and then walked away from the target, back towards the castle, so a stray shot would go to the forest and not risk injuring someone. When he reached fifty paces he stopped and started taking out his archery equipment. He took out a wooden bow that reached his shoulder height. The bow had an intricate pattern of weaving of gold and silver lines going from the center to both of the rope notches. Yannick took out the rope and, bending the bow, adjusted it to the notches, making sure that it was not too loose by aiming at the target without an arrow notched to the bow. He then took out some of his arrows from the bag, twenty in all. None of them had their shaft on, these being kept apart in a separate pouch. He then notched an arrow and aimed towards the target. He let his arrow fly and saw with satisfaction that it had hit the target, not dead center as he had intended but a hit nonetheless. He continued to shoot his arrows until they were none left. He then looked at the target, fifteen hits out of twenty arrows.

"Not bad" He thought "But not good enough."

He used the accio charm to get his arrows back and started over again. He went on this way for an hour, until he managed to get all arrows in the target without a miss. Having recalled his arrows again, he took on and shot it into the target. He then took another arrow and took aim towards the target again, this time aiming specifically the other arrow. He released it at it flew to the target, hitting it a mere centimeter bellow the first arrow.

"A fine shot" He heard a voice say right behind him.

Yannick turned around and found himself facing Professor Dumbledore, who was looking at him amusedly.

"I know it was not what you intended to hit but a fine shot nevertheless." Dumbledore added.

"Professor." Yannick started. "I had no idea you were here... I..."

"That's quite understandable Yannick and no need to apologize." Dumbledore answered. "You see, my office tends to get hot in the morning, it is the first place that the sun hits at the start of the day and this morning I decided to go out for a stroll to take some fresh air. While I was walking towards the entrance again I saw you practicing. You were so immersed in it that I preferred to just watch it silently without disturbing you."

Yannick looked at Dumbledore, not knowing what to say.

"Now that you have finished. Let me ask you one question." Dumbledore continued. "Did you achieve what you went here for in the first place?"

Yannick was surprised at the question but then looked over the event of the morning. The practice had taken his attention off his upset of the morning but he still felt angry.

"No professor." He answered

"Exactly." Dumbledore said. "You see Yannick, you can never resolve an upset with anger or violence, but only by facing the upset and talking about it to someone, preferably the person responsible for that same upset. You should try to talk to Alexandra, I am sure you will find her to be a very good listener."

Yannick looked at the headmaster in disbelief. How had he known?

"I am sorry for my behavior Sir." He said.

"You have nothing to be sorry about Yannick." Dumbledore replied with a twinkle of amusement in his eye. "I suggest you pack up your things and enjoy the rest of this beautiful day. I am sure you will find Hogsmeade very amusing and relaxing. It has been a pleasure talking to you Yannick." Dumbledore added before walking away towards the lake.

Yannick stood there for a minute and then charmed the the arrows and the target to him. He put all his thing neatly back in the bag and hurried back to the castle and to his dorm. He took a second shower as the practice had left him sweating, changed clothes and then headed back towards the castle's exit. He was in the entrance hall when he heard a voice call his name. That voice made him stop cold in his tracks. He turned to see Alexandra coming towards him.

"You forgot your cloak in the Great Hall this morning" she told him, handing it to him.

"Oh... I had not realized." he answered. "I... stormed out so fast that I completely forgot about it. Thanks."

"No problem." She told him.

"I thought that you were in Hogsmeade with Sean and your friend." Yannick told her.

"Well, they went there but I did not accompany them." She answered. "I mean the main reason I had agreed in the first place was so I could talk to you and you had decided to not go so..." she shrugged.

They stood there, not saying anything until Alexandra spoke again.

"Is there anything you would like to tell me Yannick?"

"No... well... yeah but... I dunno really..." he answered.

"Yannick Silverleaf." she sighed, sounding a bit annoyed. "Will you or will you not tell me the reason you have been evading my every attempts to talk to you? You have been avoiding me since we first met two weeks ago." she looked at him straight in the eyes. "Yannick, what is wrong?"

"Alex I... I don't really know... I..." he started, sitting down on one of the stone benches in the entrance hall.

"What is it?" she asked sitting by him. "Is it that you don't like me?"

"Alex, no." he said looking at her. "It is not that. I do like you... a lot. It's just that..."

"What?" she asked him gently.

"I... I'm afraid." he answered.

"Afraid of what Nick?" she asked.

"Afraid... Afraid of getting close." he started. "Afraid of getting too close to someone. Afraid of being hurt when I lose that person care about."

"So... you are afraid that you would lose me if we got to close. Is that it?" she asked.

Yannick nodded.

"Why?" she asked. "Why would you lose me?"

"It... It's hard to explain." he told her.

"Try me Nick." she answered.

Yannick looked at her. Her eyes looked at him in a way that told him that she was ready to hear anything. He sighed.

"When I was ten years old, I had a close friend." he started. "A girl. Her name was Gwendall. She was very pretty, blonde, hazel eyes, always laughing, always ready to listen. We had known each other since we were three years old. Our parents were very good friends, her own father was helping mine restoring an enchanted forest in France."

He bent down, his elbows resting on his knees and his eyes looking at the floor.

"Anyway, we were so close... almost inseparable. Our parents considered it a brother and sister thing but we both knew it was more than that. I could not even think about spending some time without her being around. Altair was with us as well, taking part in our games. We even had talked of getting married when we graduated from wizard school, she was supposed to come in the same school than mine." He added, feeling tears rising in his eyes. "But then, that same year, right before Christmas."

He felt tears coming down his eyes onto his cheeks. Alexandra placed her hand on his back.

"She had gone to her house that was on the other side of the forest to get something. She was to be back on time for the dinner. She did not arrive. We contacted her parents and they told us she had left towards our house several hours ago. There was a snow storm outside. I stormed out of my home to find her, calling Altair to help me. I had a handkerchief from her and I gave it to him so he could pick up her scent. The only thing was..." he paused. "the snow storm had hidden her tracks and Altair could hardly pick up anything in that weather. I looked for most of the night, screaming her name, desperate to find her. The snow storm stopped at some point and the sky cleared. I found her just before dawn. She looked so peaceful, she had found a hollow in a tree and had used it to protect herself of the weather. I was overjoyed, I had found her. She seemed to be sleeping. It's only when I reached and gave her a gentle nudge that I realized that she... she wasn't. She was frozen. Dead and frozen. I don't know how long I was there holding her body and crying. All I know is that our fathers found us, they had followed the mourning howls of Altair."

He paused. Grief had overcome him and he could not utter a word. After a moment he continued.

"I woke up in my bed at home, my mother standing at my side. I had gone delusional for a week, sick from pneumonia. I kept on thinking what would have happened if I had gone with her, if I had stopped her from going and went on thinking about a thousand other ways I could have prevented her from dying." He said. "I failed her. I could have saved her but I failed her. And now, she is gone, forever."

Yannick sat there, silently weeping and letting out the grief he had help for too long. He felt Alexandra pulling him into a comforting embrace. He rested his head on her shoulder, still weeping.

"Nick." He heard her say. "You did not fail her. It is not you fault. You were still an underage wizard, you had not even started school yet. What could a ten year old do against the fury of the elements?" She asked him.

"I lived my whole life near the forest." He said. "I should have found her faster."

"Stop it Nick. Stop blaming yourself." Alexandra answered harshly. "It is not your fault and never was. You did everything a boy your age possibly could to find her and you found her. Too late, but you did find her. You almost died yourself just to find her. Who knows if others would have found her body if you had not?" she told him. She pulled out of the embrace and looked at him in the eyes. "You know what? I think that wherever she is right now she is happy. Happy to have had you as such a close friend. Happy that you went through the impossible to find her. Happy that you found her body, so her parents would know what had happened."

Yannick looked at her, his eyes still wet from the tears he had shed.

"Now I will tell you this Nick." she continued. "You are not going to lose me. I met you two weeks ago and I found a young man who could loose his temper and blame others but who also saw his own mistakes. Someone that was ready to even help a person he hardly knew. And that is why I am trying to be your friend, to talk to you, to try to know you better... because I liked what I saw. Wherever our friendship will take us, if it works out or not, I don't care, I want you to know, you will not lose me."

She pulled him back into an embrace, his arms embracing her as well this time. They pulled out of it after a few minutes, Yannick wiping a few remaining tears from his eyes.

"Merlin!" he said "I feel like such a baby."

"But it helps, doesn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah... yeah it does. Thanks." he replied. "A lot." He smiled.

"You are more than welcome." she told him.

They sat there, still looking at each other, not saying anything, until Alexandra spoke again.

"So... Were you planning on doing anything special today?" she asked him.

"Yeah... well... I was planning to head towards Hogsmeade and discover the place," he answered. "But now I realize I don't really know how to go there."

"Well." she told him with a smile. "I was going there myself. I can show you the way if you don't mind me joining you."

"I would not mind at all." he answered her with a grin

"Excellent!" she answered. "Let's go then!" she added taking him by the arm and getting him to stand up from the bench.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Letter**

A few days later Yannick was sitting at his working desk in his dorm. He had realized earlier that day that it had been more than two weeks that he had written to his parents and had decided that it was better to get it done now than to risk receiving a howler reminding him. He had a blank piece of parchment laid out in front of him on the desk. He was however not writing but was nipping the end of his quill, his eyes looking at random on the room's ceiling. He glanced at the room's door as he heard some noise from the common room. Sean had not come back to the room yet and he was thankful for that, it would have been impossible to write something with him around.

"Where do I start? The past weeks have been packed..."

He straightened back in his chair, dipped his quill in the ink receptacle and started.

_Dearest mum and dad,_

_I take the opportunity that I am alone in my room to write you this letter. I had meant to write sooner but the days here at Hogwarts have been packed. Very nice lessons though, I am learning quite a lot of things._

_Charm class is going like a charm._ He laughed internally at the unintended pun. _We were mainly perfecting our skills at basic charms until now but yesterday Professor Flitwick demonstrated a rather complicated charm. A kind of advanced version of the Wingardium Leviosa charm. We basically will use it to make a heavy weight levitate (right now it is only 30 kilos but he said we can lift up to 200 kilos or more with this charm) and move to another space in the room. He said that we should soon be able to use it to levitate unconscious persons, but that before that we would need to learn how to use another charm at the same time, to keep the person stable. Sounds hard to master._

_Divination is actually much more interesting than it ever was in Morbihan's school for Wizardry. Firenze, the centaur who teaches us, really seems to know what he is talking about but he has a way to say things that keeps on making the subject mysterious. Makes you wonder if anyone ever really understood Divination but also make the classes highly interesting. We right now are learning how to draw predictions from the positions of the stars and this is where I am thankful that I was good at astronomy, some of the other students are having trouble there._

_Speaking of astronomy, Hogwarts is very ideal for that. The tower we use is the highest of the castle and you can really see all the constellations that exist in our hemisphere. I even discovered stars I had never seen before! Very interesting._

_I actually think that my favorite class right now is Defense Against the Dark Arts. Now there are the skills that will help me in the future! And what is best, they have a great person teaching us and boy does he know what he is talking about! Just today we had a whole two hours practical lesson. We were practicing our hexes in turn and then learning how to repel them. He told us today that we would soon learn a defense spell that could stop most hexes and curses. I can't wait for that one, especially as I want to become an Auror later on._

_Transfiguration is progressing. I am not yet able to turn a kettle into a living duck (I blew up my kettle the last time I tried) but professor McGonagall says that I am improving. She might be a very strict teacher but she is very competent at what she does._

_Care of Magical creatures is quite interesting as well. The teacher, Hagrid, is also the games-keeper of Hogwarts. He knows the forest that is next to the castle very well and a few days ago, he managed to capture some Unicorn foals to show to the class. I must say that I have never seen anything so pure. He also takes care of Altair who seems to have well adjusted to his new environment. Just yesterday I heard him howling in a hunt chase so I don't think there is problems for him with his new surroundings. He just does not yet really understand why he can't follow me inside Hogwarts. I guess it is only a matter of time before he gets use to the idea of me being in a house he can't enter in._

_This last week end we also had an outing to Hogsmeade, the small village right by Hogwarts. It is nice to be in an all magical village. I got the guided tour by a fellow student from the Ravenclaw house, Alexandra. She showed me all the nook and cranny of this village. I wish there were more villages like that one around, it would be so much easier for us to live peacefully._

_Oh, if you could let Gran know, this same Alexandra commented that she really liked the design of our Silverleaf crest. "Nice, yet simple" she said. Knowing the time Gran puts into making them, I am sure she will appreciate the comment._

_Anyway, enough about me, what about you all? How is work? Are the days still packed or back to normal? Has everything arrived from France to our new home now? How is my little cousin doing back in France? Any news from the rest of the family? I am thinking a lot about you all and can't wait until the Christmas holidays to see you again. I miss you both. _

_Lots of love._

_Your son, Yannick._

_PS for dad: I am looking into a name I encountered here in Hogwarts and which has caught my attention as it does not sound familiar. It is the name "Dewitt" (I think I spelt it right). Could you have a look and see what comes up on it? Just curious. Thanks in advance._

Yannick looked over what he had just written, feeling quite satisfied with himself. He corrected some errors here and there and then, having ensured the ink was dried, he rolled up the parchment and tied a silver ribbon around it. He then opened the drawer under his desk and took out a stick of red wax. Reaching under his shirt, he took out a silver chain to which was attached a signet ring. He held the ring in between his fingers for a moment, looking over at the complex pattern of leaves surrounding his two reversed initials engraved on it. He heated up the end of the wax stick with the lit up candle that was on his desk and carefully made an oval shape of liquid wax on the rolled parchment, making it go on the ribbon as well. He quickly pressed the signet ring on the still hot wax and then took it off. His signet was clearly visible on the wax now. He looked at his watch, nine thirty in the evening.

"Too late to give it to an owl to deliver. I'll have to do it tomorrow morning."

Leaving the letter on his desk, he stood up and stretched, enjoying the feeling it gave him.

"Man! I am so tired I could sleep a week!"

He then started to undress to go in bed.

"Sean is still not back. I wonder what he is doing."

Putting his dirty clothes in the laundry basket, he went over to his trunk, which was at the end of his bed. He opened it and went through his clothes. He took out what he would wear the next day and then took out a book, "Magical and mysterious creatures of the forests". His father had given this to him on his thirteenth birthday and although he had read it many times before, he always enjoyed going trough it again. He sent the book on his bed and was closing his trunk when Sean came into the room, looking disappointed. He was holding his wizard chess box set and his medium blond hair looked as if he had just gotten out of bed. Yannick knew that this showed he had had a rough game and from Sean's expression, he had not won.

"I just don't get it!" Sean said. "Ernie makes it seem so easy to play chess sometimes. His chess pieces did not even object to the moves he made. Mine kept complaining, driving me nuts. How can anyone win a game that way?"

"Depends on how much control you have on your chess set." Yannick answered. "I rarely have trouble with my own set now, but I have it since quite a while."

"Maybe you should borrow your set to me one day." Sean said.

Yannick let out a short laugh.

"Not unless you want to be severely trounced by your opponent, my friend." He said. "They only understand French."

"Oy." Sean said. "Thats right. That is how you win then?"

"No Sean." Yannick laughed. "I pay attention to my game, that's all. Unlike you." He added with a grin.

"Why you! I am not that bad a player!" Sean said, taking one of the pawns in his chess box and throwing it towards Yannick.

The pawn missed him but both boys distinctively heard it shout "BANZAI!!!" as it flew and then as it landed "Ow! Ouch! Not only is he a bad player but he can't even bloody aim right!".

They looked at each other and started laughing madly.

"See?" Yannick said between laugh. "Told you so!"

"Yeah." Sean answered, moving to pick the pawn up and put it back in the box. "I think they are conspiring against me. " He added, laughing harder.

Yannick snorted. "Mine were that way as well when I first got them. Takes a little while for a set to adjust to a new user. That's why you don't really see players asking for the set of another person." He added.

"Could you imagine Ernie's face if we made him play with your set?" Sean asked, stifling a laugh and then mimicking. "Come on you lousy stupid piece of stone! I said pawn to E4, so move already!" "And then your pawn turning around to him and saying" "Pawdon? Vouz parlez Frwancais?"

Yannick burst out laughing again just at the thought of it.

"Man! That would be brilliant!" he said. "An event to capture with a wizard camera."

They continued laughing at different situations, each mimicking someone in turn.

"Oy! Mate!" Sean said looking at his watch. "Time for bed if we want to be fresh in the morning."

"Yeah, I am planning on waking up early." Yannick said. "Need to do something before breakfast." he added.

"Ooooh." Sean said with a mischievous grin. "Meeting Alex in a little 'tete-a-tete', by any chance."

"Thats dangerous territory, Sean." he warned playfully. "You know that."

"Right. So why do you need to wake up early then?" Sean asked.

"I just need to send this letter to my family" he said, pointing to the parchment roll on his desk.

"That's it? Nothing mysterious? No cloak and dagger stuff?" Sean asked.

"Nope. Just a plain letter." he answered.

"Awww, mate!" Sean complained. "Bo-ring!"

"Yup." Yannick laughed, getting in bed. "I guess I live a pretty boring life."

"You have no idea." Sean told him sarcastically.

"Right. Goodnight Sean." he said, rolling over to face the wall.

"Night, mate." he heard Sean say.

When he woke up the next day Yannick thought he had over-slept. After a little moment of panic and frantically looking for his watch, he was reassured by hearing Sean moving in his bed and grumbling, still fast asleep. He found his watch which had fallen from his bedside table and looked at the time. He had still two hours before breakfast, enough time for him to send his letter and enjoy some exercise outside. He got out of bed and stretched, yawning at the same time and then shivered. The room had gotten colder overnight. He dressed in comfortable clothes took the letter from his desk and went out of his dorm, Sean still soundly asleep. He made his way trough the common room. The two prefects of his house were already up and were talking together by the room's fireplace. The girl's prefect took notice of him as he passed.

"Where are you going Yannick?" she asked him.

"Just going to send this letter by owl and then a good hour of exercise outside." he replied.

"Alright." she told him. "Just don't do anything stupid at the same time."

"Don't worry because of me on that." he replied, going out the entrance.

He made his way towards the owlery. He greeted the Gryffindor ghost, Nearly-headless Nick, on the way. He also waited a few minutes before entering into a corridor at one point as Peeves was once again creating havoc in there throwing ink balloons in random directions. Being shot at by the school's poltergeist, especially with one of those, was the last thing he wanted the early morning. He had to wait for Peeves to be chased away from that corridor by an angry Filch. Once the coast was clear of both Peeves and Filch, he continued and reached the owlery a few minutes later.

For some reason this owlery amazed him each time he saw it from the inside. Located in the West tower of Hogwarts, the stone room was the home of hundreds of owls of every breed imaginable and they came in every sizes. Some were the owls of Hogwarts but most were belonging to students. He slightly shivered at the cold air when he entered as the room had no glass on any of its windows. He then made his way towards the school's owls, walking on a floor that was a mixture of hay, owl dropping and regurgitated owl pellets of mice, voles or other rodents. He reached a group of four owls that were huddled together on the same perch. He chose one and poked it gently to get its attention. The Tawny owl looked at him with its sharp eyes.

"I need this letter delivered to my parents." He told him, showing the rolled up parchment. "Can you take care of that?"

The owl blinked and stood still for a few seconds, as if considering his request. It then hooted and presented its right leg so Yannick could attach the letter to it. As soon as he had done that, the owl spread its wings and flew off through one of the windows of the room. Yannick looked at it go until it was only a small black dot in the morning sky.

"Wonder how long it will take to reach them." He wondered. "Probably a day or so."

He set out of the owlery and made his way to the entrance hall of the castle, which was starting to come more alive as more of its inhabitants started to wake up for the new day. On his way down he saw two other students, a boy and a girl, both with bright red hair and sporting Gryffindor's colors, making their way in his direction. They seemed to be going to the owlery as well. The boy was about his age and height but the girl looked about a year younger. He heard them talking to each other, apparently arguing about something.

"I am telling you, Pig will not be able to deliver this package on his own." The boy was saying, pointing to a package the girl was carrying.

"Well," the girl countered. "We will have to find another owl to help him with it then."

They continued talking to each other while walking towards the owlery, not even sparing a glance at Yannick as he passed them in the corridor.

"Pig?" he wondered to himself. "That's a weird name for an owl."

He came out of the castle a few minutes later. The air was still fresh but the morning sun was starting to warm it already. Yannick set out to jog making his way around the castle and going towards the forbidden forest. He did not enter the forest when he reached it but continued jogging near it. He was coming more close to the whomping willow when a howl coming from the forest caught his attention. He turned around and smiled as he saw Altair coming out of the forest and heading towards him. The black wolf seemed as healthy as ever.

"Hey Altair." he said as the wolf reached him. "How are you today my friend?"

The wolf answered by giving him a push with his head and then turning around him, letting his mass rest on Yannick's right leg as he came to a stop. Yannick started petting the wolf's head with his right hand.

"Glad to hear it. Not doing too bad myself."

Yannick paused, looking at the forest and continuing to pet Altair.

"Say," He asked, looking down to the wolf. "What do you say about a good wrestle? Like the ones we used to do in France."

Altair looked up at him, his golden eyes looking into Yannick's own. Then, without warning, the wolf gave him a big shove in his legs, causing Yannick to struggle to stay on his feet.

"Yow! That's cheating! I was not ready you sly fox." he laughed, and then launched himself at the wolf, trying to catch him.

The game went on for a good half hour, neither of the two really having the upper hand on the other. Yannick played unconscious at one point, causing the wolf to stop and come over to look at him. Then, when he felt the wolf's muzzle near his face, he blew on it, causing the wolf to leap back, sneezing.

"Heh! Got you this time." he told his companion.

He was standing up again when he felt something hard under his leg. Looking down and still crouching he picked a piece of metal from the ground. He recognized the motif instantly, having seen it for years, but he wondered. What was it doing here? What was a Silverleaf crest doing on Hogwarts' grounds?

The weird French spelling is intentional


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Crest**

Yannick turned the Silverleaf crest in his hand, examining it at different angles. It was definitely of the same composition as his own brooch and he had no doubt it emanated from the same source. Yet, something was bothering him. The design of the crest was wrong. It was looking like the three leaf design of the Silverleaf crest, much like a Fleur-de-Lys. This old design had been in use in his family until his grand-mother designed the new one, just before he entered wizard school. The crest he held in his hand, however, lacked some parts of that same old design, as if it were from even before. Yet, when he looked closely at the crest, he could not really detect any sign of age that would fit it. It looked too new.

He turned to Altair, who had come closer to him, and presented him the crest in his open palm.

"What do you think?" He asked the wolf

Altair came closer to the crest, sniffing it and looking at it intently. He then looked at Yannick again and uttered a low growling noise.

"Yeah, I don't like it either." he told the wolf. "There is something not right with it."

He continued looking at the crest, lost in his thoughts, until the sound of a bell from the castle brought him back into reality. He looked at his watch.

"Oh man! I only have fifteen minutes before breakfast starts." He turned to Altair. "Listen, I need you to be on the lookout for anything suspicious that could relate to this crest. I'm going to send it to Gran as soon as I can but if you spot anything, you let me know. Alright?"

Altair looked at him and then gave him a push on the shoulder with his head, showing his understanding. Giving the wolf a last hug, he stood up and ran back to the castle.

As he came in the castle he saw students of different houses already heading towards the Great Hall. He hurried to the Hufflepuff common room and as he entered, met Sean who was apparently waiting for him.

"Hey mate! You are late!" Sean said seeing him coming in.

"Yeah sorry." he answered, heading toward his dorm. "I was a bit delayed."

"You can tell me about it in the Great Hall." Sean replied, going out the entrance. "I'll keep you a seat but you need to hurry."

Yannick took twenty minutes to get himself refreshed and ready. He grabbed his bag, making sure he did not forget any books for the day's lessons and left out again from the dorm and a few moments after, from the common room. When he entered the Great Hall he looked at the Ravenclaw table but saw that most of the 6th years had apparently eaten already and that Alexandra was not there. He went straight to the Hufflepuff table and sat down by Sean.

"So what happened mate?" Sean asked. "It is not really you to be late in the morning, even when you exercise."

Yannick helped himself with some eggs and bacon.

"Yeah, I know." he answered between bites. "It's just that... I found something that I did not expect while I was outside."

"Really? What is it?"

"This." Yannick took the crest out of his pocket and gave it to Sean.

"Nice! Looks a bit like the brooch you have on your cloak." Sean said.

"Yeah well," Yannick told him, grabbing some toasts and marmalade. "I am pretty sure that it comes from my family, we're the only ones to have this crest as far as I know. The only problem with this one is that it is an old design. The brooch I have is the latest one, about 6 years old now. This one bears part of the design that was used before my brooch, the Fleur-de-Lys one."

"Fleur de what? Mate, you lost me here."

"Oh, sorry." he said. "The Fleur-de-Lys is a heraldic symbol in France that looks a bit like this crest, only that it is vertical and not horizontal. I think it was used in France by the King exclusively. Not too sure though, my Muggle history is not that good."

"I can't really help you on that part mate," Sean replied "I only studied English and Scottish Muggle history. Never got as far as France in my old Muggle school."

"No problem." he answered, downing his last toast and finishing his mug of juice. "How long do we have before the first lesson today? We are with Binns for the entire morning, right?"

"Yup, still fifteen minutes." Sean answered. "We'd better go though, we have the class with the Slytherins and I don't want them to take all the best seats."

"Well, lets go then, I am done eating anyway." he replied.

They stood up and grabbing their bags, left the Great Hall.

"Anyway," Yannick continued. "The problem with the crest I found this morning is it has a design that is similar to the old one, but is missing some of the refinements. That means it would be an even older design. For all I know, it could be over a hundred or more years old."

"Wow!!" Sean exclaimed.

"Yeah... the only problem though is that it looks too new. I mean, I have seen some crests made in the old design before and none of them looked as new as this one. It is really weird. Plus, how it got onto Hogwarts ground in the first place. I really don't know."

They arrived in front of Professor Binn's classroom where sixth year students of both Hufflepuff and Slytherin were waiting.

"Sounds fishy if you ask me." Sean answered him.

"That is exactly what I thought." Yannick said. "I even showed it to Altair. He did not like it either..."

"Who is Altair?" said a haughty voice behind them, interrupting him.

Yannick suppressed a shudder when he heard the voice. He turned to face the sixth year Slytherin he had come to know as Draco Malfoy. He looked at the pale blond boy who was overshadowed by his usual gorillas, Crabbe and Goyle.

"What do you want Malfoy?" he asked coolly.

"I asked you a question Froggie." Malfoy replied "But perhaps your last flight down the stairs damaged your hearing?" he added with a sneer on his face.

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered at the remark. Yannick felt a sudden urge to punch one of them, any of the three would have done just fine.

"Altair is my animal companion." he answered, keeping his temper.

"You mean that big oversized black dog you were playing with this morning?" Malfoy asked.

Yannick nodded.

"Looks pretty stupid to me." Malfoy said.

Yannick felt Sean moving forward beside him but he held him back.

"First off Malfoy, it is a wolf. Not a dog. Second, that wolf is more intelligent than the pea sized brains of you and your goons put together."

Malfoy went livid.

"You..." he started, reaching for the wand in his pocket.

But before he could do anything, the door to the History classroom opened and Professor Binns asked the students to come in.

"You have not heard the end of this Silverleaf." Malfoy muttered, passing in front of Yannick.

"Keep your distances from me Malfoy or you will regret it." he answered icily.

Yannick entered the classroom with Sean, who pulled him to a desk at the far left, away from the Slytherins.

"Well that was intense." Sean told him

"I hate him." Yannick answered "I really do."

Sean let out a low chuckle and patted him on the back.

"Welcome to the club mate." he said.

They waited for Binns to start his class, which did not take long. After less than ten minutes he was speaking about yet another Goblin rebellion that took place in the 19th century. This had a soporific effect on at least half of the class, which Binns, staying true to his nature, took no notice of whatsoever.

"So," Sean asked Yannick in a low voice. "What are you going to do about this crest you found?"

"I don't really know to tell you the truth Sean." he answered. "I think the best is that I send it to my family so they can take a look at it. I am sure my grand-mother will be able to discover where it comes from. She is the one that designed the brooch I have currently." he added.

"Sounds like a good idea." Sean told him.

Most of the Hufflepuff class was trying to show some interest to the endless speech of Professor Binns and were taking notes. Most of the Slytherins were not hiding their boredom though and several, including Crabbe and Goyle, were actually asleep.

"Doesn't he at least realize that people fall asleep? I mean Crabbe is positively snoring!" Yannick asked Sean.

"Who, Binns?" Sean asked "Forget it mate! We are lucky if he actually hears the bell ring at the end of the class. The rumor has it that he actually was a professor here when he was alive. He died in his bed one night but came to teach class the next day as a ghost as if nothing had happened. Wonder if he ever realized he was dead." he added with a chuckle.

Yannick suppressed a laugh. He continued to take notes but after thirty minutes stopped as he could not really see the point of doing so. Who cared about the names of the Goblin leaders anyway? He took a small piece of parchment and decided to write a note to his grand-mother about the crest he had found.

_Dear Gran,_

_I hope all is well for you back in France. It is a bit weird to think that only a few month ago we were living very close to each other but that now we have a sea and countless miles that separate us. I miss France but I also like it here at Hogwarts. I never was in a more fascinating school and already made a few friends. I have been sorted into the Hufflepuff house, the house of the hard workers. Altair has well adjusted to England and I see him as often as I can. Just did some exercise with him this morning as a matter of fact._

_I unfortunately am writing to you for something completely different. While I was wrestling around with Altair this morning I found the enclosed crest on the grounds of Hogwarts. I am puzzled by it. It bears resemblance with the old crest we used to have but it is lacking some of the finer details I can remember that design had. This one seems older in design but yet if that were true, its state is too new. It is almost as new as the brooch I have on my cloak. I also showed it to Altair and he does not like it at all either. He will warn me if there is anything unusual going on around._

_I felt that you should know this as soon as possible. I will let you know o anything new I find and, of course, of anything Altair reports to me._

_I miss you a lot Gran and I really hope to be able to see you for the Christmas holidays. _

_Lots of love, Yannick._

Yannick looked at the letter over. It was not too fancy but it was the best he could do during a class without being caught, not that there was much danger in that particular one anyway. He cautiously asked Sean for an envelope. After having written his grand-mother's name on it, he put the crest along with the short letter in it. He took out a piece of sealing wax he always carried around in his pocket in case of emergencies, took out his signet ring and then, having made sure that Professor Binns was still lecturing on while making sketches of a battle on the blackboard, he whispered to his wand.

"Inflamare."

The wand sprouted a small flame at its end and he used it to melt some wax on the envelope. When he had enough he blew the flame out and applied his signet on the still liquid wax, sealing the envelope. He looked around the class again cautiously, apart from Sean, no-one seemed to have taken notice of what he had done.

The class went on without any incident and when the bell rang, they packed and headed towards the Great Hall to have lunch. Yannick ate fast however. He wanted to make sure that the letter went before going to his next class. This was the one class he had become to really like, Herbology with the Ravenclaws, and he did not want to be late for it at any cost. He rushed to the owlery again and sent his letter. Then he headed back down, making his way to the Herbology class. He had to take a sudden left turn into another corridor at one point. Malfoy had appeared at the end of the corridor he was going down and the last thing that Yannick wanted was to give a chance for Malfoy to take another hit at him.

He arrived to the Herbology greenhouse as the students were starting to enter. He sat again with Sean and was pleased to see that Alexandra was sitting at the table that was at his right. She gave him a smile when he looked at her. The class began and Professor Sprout started explaining the different healing properties of plants and asked questions to students at random.

"Miss Dewitt," she asked at one point. "I am suffering from a dire toothache and I have in my hand some whistling leaves. Should I just eat them to make the toothache go away?"

Yannick noticed that Alexandra did not know that answer and he saw her look briefly at him. He mouthed a "No".

"No Professor." Alexandra replied.

"Ah, and why is that please?" Professor Sprout asked her, looking a bit surprised at her answer.

Alexandra hesitated, clearly not knowing the answer to that one. Yannick raised his hand.

"Yes Mister Silverleaf?"

"The whistling leaf has many healing properties and can cure many ills when chewed." he answered "This is due to its sap. However it needs to enter the bloodstream before it hits the ill body part. If it hits it before, it will almost always worsen the ill. A way to handle a toothache using this remedy would be either to infuse the leaves, making the sap bond with the water or dip a cloth in the sap itself and apply it on the part of the cheek where the toothache is located, letting it enter the bloodstream by the pores."

Professor Sprout was beaming.

"A very good answer Mister Silverleaf, ten points for Hufflepuff and another ten points to Ravenclaw for Miss Dewitt's own answer."

"Nice save mate" he heard Sean whisper to him.

The lesson continued on for another hour until the bell rang. They packed their things and went out the room. Yannick was going out with Sean, ready to head to their next class when he heard Alexandra calling his name.

"I'll see you over there" Sean told him, leaving him with Alexandra.

"Thanks for the save." she told when she reached him. "I really did not know the answer to that one."

"I would have been surprised if you had." he replied with a chuckle. "This stuff is advanced Herbology. You learn it in your seventh year I think." They started walking back towards the castle.

"But then, why did she ask us if she knew we could not answer?"

"I guess she was testing us." he replied

"And so how did _you_ know the correct answer and the reason?" she asked him.

"Well, my father is an expert on plants and their use and my mother is a healer. I lived my whole life in France near an enchanted forest and that is where you can find whistling leaves. Their healing properties are one of the first things my parents taught me." he added.

"Makes sense." she said.

They continued walking until Alexandra spoke again.

"Hey... I was wondering. Are you... doing anything this evening?"

Yannick looked at her, surprised by her question. "Apart from my homework tonight?" he asked. "No. Nothing planned really. Why?"

"Well... Ravenclaw is having its last practice this evening before their match against Slytherin on Saturday and... I was wondering if you would be interested to watch it." she told him

"Sounds fun." he replied with a grin "But are you sure your teammates won't object to that? I could be spying for my own team."

She laughed at the remark. "Nick, we are playing Slytherin, not Hufflepuff. Besides, you could then give pointers to your team so they have a chance to beat Gryffindor." she added with a sly smile.

"Touché!" He told her "Yeah I'll be there. When does it start?"

"Eight in the evening."

"See you on the pitch then," he told her. "I have to go now though. I am going to be late for my next class."

"No problem, I have to go to my own one too. Where are you heading?"

"The dungeon," he replied.

"Let me guess, potions with the ever irascible Snape?"

"Yup." he answered.

"Well, good luck then."

"Thanks Alex. I'll need it." he told her, heading towards the potion class.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Quidditch**

"Beautiful day for the last Quidditch match of the year" Yannick thought as he entered his dorm that Saturday morning. He had awaken early that day and cursed himself for that. He had tried to fall back asleep but failing to do so, had then decided to go out for his morning exercises. That had kept him busy until 8:30AM and all that he needed now was a good shower. He let his archery bag down by his trunk and looked around the room. Sean was not in bed anymore but seeing that his friend's clothes for the day were still there untouched, he knew that he had not gone to eat yet.

"Probably under the shower."

Yannick undressed, put on his bathrobe and headed to the common shower. When he got there he saw that only one of the showers was being used.

"Sean? You there?"

"Yup mate!" He heard Sean answer from the shower. "How was your exercise this morning?"

Yannick entered the shower that was on the left of Sean's. "Not bad. Feeling exhausted but also a lot more awake."

"That is why I do my exercise in the evening" Sean answered. "So I can just crash in bed and sleep the exhaustion away."

"Yeah, well, to each what he prefers." Yannick answered, taking off his bathrobe. He took his wand and flicked it towards the faucet. The water started coming out, nice and hot. "Perfect as always." he thought.

"So," he heard Sean say. "Last game of the year today. Ravenclaw against Slytherin. Should be fun to watch."

"Yeah. Ravenclaw should have it easy."

"Don't be too sure mate. Slytherin is known for playing dirty."

"Well Ravenclaw is quite good from what I saw at their practice. Who does Slytherin have?"

"Well, their captain is Montague, a chaser.Warrington and Pucey are the remaining two chaser of the team. Bletchley is their keeper, and not a good one if you ask me. The beaters are... hold on for this one... Crabbe and Goyle."

Yannick let out a laugh. "Those two gorillas? I did not even know they could fly a broom."

"Miracles happen." Sean continued. "I think Malfoy had a lot to do in them getting on the team in '95. Figures he would feel better having his two bodyguards watching over him while he tries to find the snitch."

Yannick rolled his eyes in disbelief. "That git is their seeker?"

"Yup!" Sean answered. "If you ask me, it had more to do with daddy's money than from his skills on a broom or as a seeker."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the year he came on the team, the whole Slytherin team had brand Nimbus 2001 brooms."

"Oh."

"Thats why I say that Slytherin is still a hard to beat team." Sean said. "But Ravenclaw should be able to to it still. They have to, I bet two galleons that they would win today."

Yannick chuckled. "Don't worry Sean. I have seen their last practice and I can tell you, they are good."

"Oh, thats right! You attended their last practice. That could be useful for our team as well."

"Sean..."

Yannick heard Sean's shower stopping and his friend stepping out.

"So, what are their preferred tactics to beat a team?" Sean continued.

Yannick laughed. "Oh no my friend! I am keeping my mouth shut on this one. All I can tell you is that they are good."

"Aaww, come on Nick! You can say more than that. Help the team!"

"Sean. Our team is already very good and I am not going to risk my friendship with Alex by playing spy on her team."

He heard Sean chuckle. "You and your honor. Bad spy, no hot water." Yannick heard a flick of a wand and suddenly, his shower was ice cold.

"RAAAAAAH!!! SEAN! GET BACK HERE YOU..." Yannick shouted while trying to catch his friend who had already disappeared from the bathroom. He cursed and then laughing at the prank, flicked his wand towards his shower to get the hot water flowing again. He finished his shower, dried himself and then headed back to his room. Sean was finishing to dress up when he entered.

"No hard feelings mate?" Sean asked him.

"Well, it was quite unexpected." he answered. "Just don't complain to me when I get back to you for it." he added with a wink.

"Oh my! I guess I need to watch my back then..." Sean started with a grin.

"Oh shut up!" Yannick told him, throwing his towel in Sean's face.

Sean laughed and threw the towel back at him. Yannick caught it and put it up to dry on a hanger. Sean had finished to dress and was heading out.

"You are going to take long?" he asked Yannick.

"Just a few minutes" he answered.

"Right. Then I'll wait for you in the common room." he told him. "See you there." he added, going out of the room.

Yannick finished to put on his clothes for the day that consisted of the usual Hogwarts uniform with his house's colors. He took a look at his wand and winced at the sight. Fingerprints could be seen on the sleek and polished mahogany wood. He opened his trunk and took out his wand cleaning material. He first took out any smudge and fingerprints off it, making sure to not add more by holding the wand without a cloth. That done he took out a bottle with a green liquid solution, he dabbed a cloth with it and started applying it to the wand. The wand emitted some blue sparks at its end and the wood started to glow a bit. Yannick smiled. This lotion was a special one made by his father. It consisted of normal wood wax that had been mixed with a plant feeding agent. A little magical touch here and there and his father had come up with a solution that waxed the wood and also kept it nourished and healthy, thus greatly reducing the risk of having one's wand break from wear.

"I would look so stupid if that happened during a spell."

He held the wand at arms length and made several quick moves with it. The wand was slashing the air, making a small noise. He then made a circle movement with the tip, slashed up diagonally through it and then drew an "S". The S shone in a silver light and then changed into the silver leaf emblem.

"Perfect."

He tucked the wand in his belt and put his wand cleaning materials back in the trunk. He was closing the lid of the trunk when his attention was caught by an object in it. He took out a black leather wand-sheath with silver lining. He took out the sheath fro the trunk and held it in his hand. The leather was soft to the touch and the inside had silver velvet lining to protect the wand. Straps on the sheath's back could be adjusted to fit the arm if any wearer, but it also could be placed on a belt. He sighed, the object brought back so many memories, his old school, the dueling classes, his father's pride when he had won the cup in the school's dueling cup for the fist time. His father had presented him with that sheath the evening of his win. He turned it around and looked at the date etched in silver on the leather, June 1993.

"Merlin! It seems so long ago already."

He stood up and strapped the sheath on his belt at his left side. He took his wand and tucked it neatly in the sheath. Still lost in thoughts he grabbed his backpack and cloak and left from the room.

He met with Sean in the common room and they headed to the Great Hall to get their breakfast. They settled at their usual table and started to eat, talking with some fellow sixth years about the oncoming Quidditch game. While they were talking Yannick looked over to the Ravenclaw table. Alex had just sat at her place talking with some of her friends. Their eyes met, she smiled at him and then continued to talk to her friends. Yannick continued to look at her and then felt someone nudge him in the ribs.

"Mate. You are staring at her again." Sean said.

Yannick smiled, blushing a bit and started to eat again.

"Yeah well, at least I am talking to her now, so you can't tease me anymore on that one." he told his friend.

"Ooooh, low blow." Sean replied "But I can do lower. So... did you ask her out for the Yule ball yet?" he added with a sly grin.

Yannick did not answer.

"I thought so." Sean said with a wide grin. "Well, you better hurry mate. I don't know if she will wait until the last day for you to ask."

"How do you know that she is not going with someone yet?" Yannick asked him.

"Ah well... I have my inside sources." his friend replied.

Yannick was about to ask him about it when they were interrupted by the sound of flapping wings. The morning mail was coming. Hundreds of owls filled the Great Hall, coming to deliver letters to the students. An grey eagle owl landed in front of him. Yannick untied the package it was carrying and gave the owl a piece of bacon. The owl ate the bacon and flew away again. Yannick opened the package. It contained two letters, one from his parents and one from his grand mother, as well as two smaller packages. One was addressed to him but the other had no name.

"News from home?" Sean asked him.

"Yeah." he answered, putting the mail in his backpack. "But I'll read it later. Right now, I am due to the library. I want to do this essay Snape gave us to do." he added standing up.

"Mate, now I know you are daft! Half the school is going to Hogsmeade and you are staying back to do an essay for Snape? It is not due until next week."

Yannick chuckled. "I prefer getting the bad stuff done first so I do not have to think about it later."

"You are hopeless, you know that?" Sean said, feigning despair.

"So I have been told." Yannick answered with a smile. "Just make sure to bring me some stuff back from Honeydukes." he added starting to head towards the entrance of the dinning hall.

"Will do mate." Sean called after him.

Yannick entered in the school's library some minutes later and went to a desk where he knew he would not be too disturbed. While on his way he picked out two books about potions for his essay. He sat at the desk. The table was big enough to seat four students, two on each side, and had a chandelier in its center that gave out a nice golden light. He took out his parchment, his quill and his ink from his backpack and set them before him on the desk. Somehow, the idea of doing this essay right away did not appeal to him. He looked in his backpack again and took out the two letters he had received. He opened the one from his parents and started to read.

_Dear Nickie,_

"Will she ever call me another way?" he wondered, he read on.

_Thank you very much for your letter, it was very pleasing to receive news from you and to see that you are adjusting well in your new school. _

_Your father and I are very busy however and our days are unfortunately very long. We don't spend that much time at home, in fact, we did not even take much time to unpack things ourselves and had to leave that to the House Elves. They are very helpful and it is a real joy to have them around to help. The house is now fully furnished and I do think you will like it, especially your room as we tried to keep everything the same as you had it in France. _

_I forwarded your comment to Gran and she appreciated it a lot. She said that this young lady has taste to appreciate such simple things. She said she would answer you and if you did not get her answer yet, it should arrive very soon to you. You know how Gran is on such matters._

Yannick smiled at the comment. His grand mother was one of the person who always took care to reply to letter or comment she received and that was something he respected a lot in her. He continued to read the letter which told him about his parents' daily routine and as well gave him news of the family. Reading the letter he realized how much he actually missed them. They had always been so close together while in France and now they were separated for most of the year. He sighed, he would see everyone in the winter holidays anyhow. At the end of the letter, the handwriting changed and he recognized the handwriting of his father.

_Hey Son,_

_I am sorry to make it this short but I have to rush back to the ministry to take care of a situation that has come up. _

_I looked at the name, Dewitt, you asked data about. I did not find any record of wizards of that name except for a young witch who is right now at Hogwarts, sixth year in Ravenclaw. Both her parents are Muggles. I will not go into the details of their profession and all, this is something this young lady should tell you herself, not me. _

_I am very proud to see that you are doing well at school. You have a very promising future in front of you._

_I love you very much, Dad._

_PS: You might want to think about inviting your friend Alexandra to our end of the year celebration, I'd be delighted to meet her and I am sure the same goes for your mother._

Yannick rolled his eyes as he read the post-scriptum. He should have known that his parents would put two and two together, no matter how cryptic he tried to be. He let out a sigh and took the letter from his grand-mother. He looked at it, taking note of the care she had put in it, the way she wrote his name, the seal that closed the letter, all these little things that showed how much she liked to keep in touch with others. He opened the letter.

_Dearest Yannick,_

_Although it was small, I really enjoyed your letter giving me news from you. I am very happy to see that all is going well for you in Hogwarts and from the conversations I have had with your parents, they feel the same way and are very proud of you. It is still a strange feeling to not have you around my house anymore though, I miss my little helper. Your cousin Alwena often asks for new from you each time she comes to see me. You should write to her, I am sure she would like it._

_The crest you sent me is of a very old design and I am amazed to see it turn up at Hogwarts. I know from where it comes from but I will tell you this when I see you in the holidays. It is a sensitive matter that I feel I cannot entrust to a letter. Please keep me informed of anything strange you see or Altair reports to you._

_I have enclosed two packages with this letter. One is for you, the other is for the young lady who commented on you brooch. I do not know her name and I did not ask your mother when she told me of her comment so I entrust it to you to give it to her. She has very a good taste for simple things and that has always been something I liked in others._

_Take good care of yourself my Yannick and do well on your studies._

_Love, Gran_

Yannick smiled, something the letters of his grand-mother always did to him. He cast his thoughts to her home, near the enchanted forest in France. He had always felt so good in that house. It was big, a manor, and his parents had lived there since he was born. He always could turn to his grand-mother when he needed someone other than his parents to talk to. She had been the first to realize the bond he shared with Gwendall and also the first in comforting him after the accident. In fact she was one of the reason he had not fallen deep into depression. He was still deep in thoughts when a voice brought him back to reality.

"A knut for your thoughts?"

"What? Who?" He said, startled, turning to see who had said that. Alexandra was standing by a bookshelf on his right. "Oh... sorry... I did not realize your were there." he told her.

She smiled. "I could see that and that is why I waited before making my presence known. News from home?" she asked, pointing to the two letters.

"Yeah, parents and grand-mother."

"Nothing bad, I hope?"

"What? Oh no! No, no. Nothing bad at all." he answered. "It is just that the last one got me thinking of home and that made some memories resurface. Some more painful than others." he added.

"Want to talk about it? I am a good listener."

He smiled at her remark. "I know and no. It's fine. Thanks for the concern though."

"You're welcome."

"So, what are you doing in the library instead of enjoying a nice Saturday?" he asked her, changing the subject.

"Ha! I should ask you the same question, mister!" she laughed. "Well... actually I was looking for you."

"Oh really?" He asked her, surprised. "I wonder why..."

"Well, I am kind of having a problem on my Herbology homework and... seeing that you are top of the class in that subject... I was wondering... maybe... if you could give me a hand on it?"

He smiled. "Sure. I was going to do an essay for Snape on potions but that can wait." he told her.

"Great!" she told him, smiling back and coming to sit in front of him. "I can see if I can help you on that in exchange. I am not too bad on potions."

They worked together for the rest of the morning. The Herbology homework was not that hard in Yannick's point of view but seeing that Alexandra was still having trouble understanding it, he went on to explain it and answered her questions about the subject. They took a short break for lunch and then continued. When Yannick was certain she now understood the subject of her homework, he started on his own essay. Alexandra gave him tips here and there and also referred him to a good book on potions where he found exactly what he needed to finish his essay. When it was done, looked at it over, doing corrections where needed.

"Well, that finishes that. Thirty bloody inches in all. Just what Snape asked for." he said. "Alas! I am afraid my quill will never recover from the strain." he added in a dramatic voice.

Alexandra laughed at his remark. "If your quill survives the whole year, I'll be amazed." she told him. "You should buy some extra ones in Hogsmeade."

"It's fine, I have spare ones in my trunk already."

Alexandra looked at her watch. "Well, I guess I should be going now. The match will start soon and I need to get ready." She stood up. "Thank a lot for your help on this."

"Hey, you're welcome. I am glad I was able to help you out." he told her.

"See you at the game?" she asked.

"Would not miss it for anything."

She smiled and left from the library. Yannick looked at her go out and then let out a sigh of well being. He crossed his arms behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. When was the last time he had felt that good?

An hour or so later he was with Sean at the Quidditch pitch. They were in the Hufflepuff stands, both sporting Ravenclaw flags. The rest of the stands around the pitch were packed with students. The game was ongoing at a fast pace and Slytherin was leading by twenty points. Sean was looking a bit desperate at this but Yannick had told him that Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker, was much more able to catch the snitch than Malfoy would ever be.

"Warrington has the quaffle, he passes to Montague, passes to Pucey... YES!! intercepted by Bradley!! Come on! Score this one!"

"MR. FINNIGAN!! I asked you to be UNBIASED in your commentaries!!"

Yannick laughed at the scolding of Professor McGonagall. Seamus Finnigan, the Gryffindor student commentating the game was clearly showing on which side he was for this game. He was cheering the goal scored by the Ravenclaw captain when he felt something observing him. He turned towards the area it came from, the forest. He looked intently there, not being able to see anything. Suddenly the feeling disappeared just as he had spotted a dark shape in the trees.

"Strange." he thought "That was not Altair..." He looked to the spot again but the shape had disappeared.

A loud cheer from Sean got his attention back to the game. Ravenclaw had scored again and they were now tied in points with Slytherin. Suddenly a green blur passed their stand, followed closely by a blue one.

"Uh-oh! It looks like Malfoy has seen the snitch and is going for it. Chang is in close pursuit." he heard Jordan say.

Malfoy was going as fast as he could one hand outstretched, trying to catch the snitch. The small golden ball was doing crazy figures in its attempt to escape. Cho was trying to keep with Malfoy but her broom could not match his speed and she was starting to loose ground. Yannick heard Sean moaning as he watched what seemed to be the oncoming victory of Slytherin. Suddenly, as Malfoy's hand was almost touching the snitch, a bulger cut his flight pass, hitting the snitch and sending it flying upwards. Malfoy was destabilized and started spinning out of control. Cho on the other hand, saw the snitch go up and chased after it.

"Superb intervention by Dewitt! Ha! Tough luck Malfoy!"

"Mr. Finnigan!!!"

Yannick looked towards where Alexandra was and saw that she was quite pleased with her last move. Goyle sent a bulger flying towards her but she saw it coming, flipped her club confidently and sent the bulger back to him with a two handed swing. Goyle had to dive hard to avoid being hit. A sudden explosion of cheers got Yannick to look towards the center of the pitch again, Cho was flying around with her fist in the air. She had caught the snitch. Ravenclaw had won the match.

The rest of the day was pure celebrations for Ravenclaw and they were not alone either, Gryffindor and most of Hufflepuff were happy for their win against Slytherin. Sean was ecstatic, having won his bet on the outcome of the game. Dinner followed with the same mood, the only silent spot of the Great Hall being the Slytherin side, who were clearly sulking over their loss. Professor Flitwick could be seen at the teacher's table talking with Professor McGonagall and making figures with his hands, depicting the game. Professor Snape was looking at them talking and seemed to have lost his appetite.

"Gee! I wonder why?" Yannick told himself with amusement as he looked at him.

He was talking to Sean when he saw Alexandra standing up with a group of other Ravenclaw girls and going out from the hall.

"I'll meet with you at the common room." he told Sean.

He grabbed his backpack and stood up to follow them. He caught up with the group as they were about to go into the corridor that brought them to their common room. He called Alexandra and saw her look in his direction. She smiled an said something to the other girls who giggled and then continued without her in the corridor.

"Congratulation on your win." he told her as he reached her.

"Thanks." she said. "It was a hard game though."

"The way you got Malfoy off the snitch was absolutely brilliant. He was still fuming about it at dinner."

"Yeah well... I guess I know who I can thank for that training." she said.

"Really? Who would that be?" he asked innocently.

"Like you would not know!" she replied hitting him playfully on the arm.

"Ouch! Okay, okay! I am happy I was of some help." he told her. "Hey, by the way and before I forget." he added reaching in his backpack. "This came for you in the mail." He gave her the package from his grand-mother. "It's from my grand-mother." he added quickly.

She frowned, taking the package and looking at him. "I don't even know her... Why would she be sending me a package?"

Yannick shuffled a bit on his feet, a bit embarrassed. "Well... I wrote to my parents recently and... well I told them about what I had been doing in Hogwarts and... I also remembered you commenting on the brooch of my cloak." he said "I know the time my grand-mother spends on making these things and... I asked my mother to transmit your comment to her. She appreciated it a lot as you can see." he added pointing to the package in he hand. "She told me that herself in her own letter, but as my mother had not told her your name, she asked me to give it to you."

Alexandra considered the package for a moment, then looked at him again. "Has she always been that way to persons she does not know?" she asked him

Yannick nodded. "She is someone that is very open with her opinions. And she always lets the person concerned know. I remember one day in my French school that a teacher told me that I was a hopeless case in the Herbology subject and that it was anyway a dying art that was not really worth studying. I mentioned that in a letter to her. The next day a howler arrived for that said teacher in the mail, right when we were all having breakfast. He went to another room to open it but I guess that she had put a sonorus charm on it because the whole school heard the howler. I never heard Gran that angry."

"She sounds like a very interesting person." she told him. "Thanks a lot Nick." she added.

They stood there looking at each other for a minute, until Alexandra spoke again.

"Well, I have to go to my common room now. We are going celebrate our win in Ravenclaw style and I would hate myself for being late." she said. "I'll see you around tomorrow." she added with a smile and turning towards the corridor.

Yannick grabbed her gently by the arm. "Can I ask you just one question before you go?"

She turned around to face him."Of course you can. What is it?"

Yannick felt heat rising in him. He opened his mouth but words seemed to have escaped him. His throat was dry. He felt like an idiot for even trying to ask her.

"Well... I... Sean told me about... and event that... takes place just before... Christmas... the Yule ball." he said. Why was he finding it so hard to talk all of a sudden?

Alexandra was looking at him, waiting for his question.

"I was wondering if... well if you want... if you would agree... to... to be my date for the ball." he finished. There, he had said it. "I know it is still a month or more away... I thought I would ask you so... you know... you would have time to consider it and..." he continued.

Alexandra smiled and put her hand on his mouth to get him to stop talking. "Yannick, you talk too much." she told him. "But I would love to be your date for the ball." she added, taking a step forward an kissing him lightly on the cheek.

Yannick had been ready for any reaction from her, or at least he thought he had. He now realized he had not expected it to be that one. Alexandra stepped back, smiling at him. "Merlin she is beautiful!" he thought.

"So... so we have a date then?" he asked her, still a bit under shock.

"Of course we have a date Nick." she laughed and then hugged him. They held each other for a while and then she pulled from the embrace. "Okay, I really have to go now. The rest of the team will start to wonder where I disappeared to if I don't show up to the party." She looked him and gave him another kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Alex." Yannick said, looking at her walking down the corridor. She turned in another corridor towards her common room and was gone from his sight. He stood there, even thought he could not see her anymore, still amazed by what had just happened.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Yule ball**

"So? What do you think?" Sean asked.

The tall blond boy was standing in his dress robe, seeming quite satisfied by the way it fitted him.

"Really fits you Sean." Yannick answered. "The blue fits with your eyes and if I do not make a mistake... that is also Cynthia's favorite color, no?"

"Well... look who has done his homework for once." Sean answered with a grin. "Decided to get me back for the times I pushed you on Alex, huh?" he added.

"Moi?? Really! Why would you think that?" Yannick asked, feigning innocence.

"Yeah, yeah... Don't tempt me Silverleaf"

"I would not dream of it O'Maley."

"Gods! I preferred it when I could win the conversation. Alex is starting to have a bad influence on you."

"Oh really? I had not noticed."

"Okay! Thats it! I give up." Sean said, waving his arms above his head in defeat.

Yannick let out a satisfied chuckle. Since his friend had hooked up with Cynthia Swanson, a sixth year Ravenclaw, Sean had become very sensible to being teased. The two friends kept on teasing one another an Yannick always enjoyed winning, although Sean won his share as well. He stood up and opened his cupboard to take out his own dress robe.

"So what are you going to put on?" Sean asked him.

"Well I only have one dress robe but I do think it will fit the occasion perfectly." Yannick turned showing a black outfit. Silver threads could be seen on it, depicting the silver leaf at some parts of the outfit.

Sean let out a whistle of appreciation "Nice! The cut is not the same as the ones we get in England though."

"French fashion at the moment."

"Thought so. Very fitting." Sean answered. "Well, I am heading to the common room for a bit and then I am going to meet my date. See you at the ball mate." he added, going out of the room.

A few minutes later, Yannick was looking himself over in the mirror, quite satisfied with the way he looked in this outfit. He had not told Sean but it had actually been made by one of his relatives who excelled in the art of using needles and threads to mix different garments together. He smiled at the thought. He then took a black box from his trunk, the present his grand-mother had sent him earlier in October. He opened it to reveal a pendant in the shape of a wolf head, its eyes encrusted with amber. Silver again, his grand-mother's metal of choice for her creations. He reached behind his head and took off the chain he always had on him. He used it to carry his signet ring but tonight, it would carry the pendant, and not hidden under his clothes. Having done this he looked at the signet ring in his hand. He was not fond of showing that his family was quite well off but this was a special occasion. He passed the ring on the middle finger of his right hand. The last thing he put on was his wand sheath. He strapped the sheath to his left arm making sure it would stay in place even if he moved his arm suddenly, the wand secured in the it. He rolled down his sleeve and looked in the mirror, the sheath was not noticeable. He had pondered as to take his wand with him or not to the ball, it was after all supposed to be a pleasant occasion, and he had decided to take it. Recently he had gotten the distinct feeling someone was observing him. It had started on the day of the Ravenclaw vs Slytherin match and had occurred three times more since then. Each of those times he had been outside and he had managed to make out a shape in the woods. He never managed to make out what it was but he was certain that the feeling had stopped as soon as he had spotted the shape.

"Silverleaf... you are getting paranoid." he told himself with a smile.

He closed his cupboard and trunk and looked at his watch, still a bit of time until the official start of the ball. He had to get to the entrance hall to meet Alex. He left from the room, passed through the common room and headed out to the hall. He met up with Sean and Cynthia in the hall, Alex was nowhere to be seen yet.

"So mate?" Sean asked as he joined them. "Where is you date?"

"She'll be here. The ball does not start for another twenty minutes at least." Yannick answered.

"She would have to be daft to not come." Sean said. "Especially after our little Nickie here made himself all nice for the occasion." he added with a chuckle.

Yannick felt himself blushing without being able to stop it. He punched Sean on the arm

"Sean!" Cynthia said. "You are not really helping to make him comfortable you know."

"It's okay Cynthia." Yannick answered. "We both know he decided to ask you out when I made my move on Alex." he added with a wink.

Cynthia laughed at that and it was now Sean's turn to blush.

"Low blow mate." he said.

"Not lower than yours." Yannick replied. "And if you want to vent your frustration of losing yet another argument to me, you can go a pluck the feathers off from that prancing peacock over there." he added, nodding towards their left.

Malfoy had appeared in the hall, a girl Yannick knew as Pansy Parkinson at his side. He was walking in the direction of the Great Hall, looking like someone who had just won the first prize in a contest.

"Aaaawww, look at that!" Malfoy said, when he passed by them. "Poor little Froggie did not manage to find himself a date for the ball." he added with a sneer. Parkinson giggled at the remark.

"I can't believe the nerves of this git!" Yannick muttered. "He acts as if the school belongs to him."

"Yeah well... you are not the only one who thinks that mate." Sean replied.

"And I think Yannick should be more paying attention as to who is coming out of the left wing corridor." Cynthia told them with a smile.

Yannick turned around to look and was struck by what he saw. Alex had just entered the hall and was coming towards him. She was wearing deep blue dress with silver motifs woven onto it that seemed to change with her every steps. He noted her hair were in a very elaborate hairstyle and as he admired it his eyes came to rest on the pendant she wore, a silver rose with petals of amber. He smiled as he recognized the craftsmanship, his grand-mother's.

"Well? What do you think?" She asked when she reached the three of them.

"I think you look absolutely amazing!And judging from their reaction," Cynthia said, closing Sean's open mouth with a finger. "They agree as well. But I think I will steer my date clear from you, before you steal him from me." She added, giving Alex a wink and dragging a still under shock Sean towards the Great Hall.

Yannick looked at them go and then turned to face Alex. He felt at a loss on what to say to start the conversation, Cynthia had said exactly what he wanted to say. He opened his mouth but could not seem to get out a word.

"This... is a very nice dress." he finally managed to blurt out, feeling himself blushing in the process. To his relief Alex smiled.

"Thanks. You look quite good yourself." she told him.

They stood facing each other, not saying anything, until she spoke again.

"Well? Shall we?" she asked, nodding in the direction of the Great Hall.

"Oh, of course." he said, offering her his arm. She smiled and took it. "I am sorry. I am making a fool of myself by acting so clumsily." he told her.

She squeezed his arm reassuringly. "Don't worry. I know that I can have that effect on boys. I mean, you saw how Sean reacted." she added with a wink.

"Yeah, he looked thunderstruck."

"So did you. Lucky for you both that Cynthia knew what to say." she chided him, smiling.

"Yeah... I guess we were." he said with an embarrassed smile.

"Relax Nick. I am not going to eat you if you make a mistake tonight, you know." she told him. "Well actually, maybe I would... if it turns out you are a really bad dancer." she added with a sly smile.

He laughed. "Thanks, I feel safer now."

They entered the Great Hall and Yannick marveled at the way it had been changed for the occasion. The tables had been changed and were now smaller and round, with space for ten students to sit. An enormous Christmas tree was towering behind the staff table, its branches adorned with decorations and a bright sparkling star at its top. The Ceiling of the Hall reflected the evening sky and stars were starting to appear. The room had a very nice winter feeling to it, without the cold. Students were coming in the hall, looking thrilled in expectation of the ball. Alex was steering him around and they came to the table where Sean and Cynthia had sat down at.

"Permission to join you two?" Alex asked with a smile.

"Well... depends. Can you keep your charms to your own date?" Cynthia asked playfully.

"I'll try." she responded with a sly grin, sitting down.

Yannick sat down next to her while she started to talk with Cynthia. He looked at the other persons who were at their table. Ernie MacMillan was sitting on his left and was talking to his date, a fifth year Gryffindor. Next to her was sitting a boy from Ravenclaw, the date of Hannah Abbot who was talking with him. Sean was busy talking to Seamus Finnigan whose date, a girl from Gryffindor was reading the menu for the feast. Yannick looked a bit around the Hall and saw that most of the tables were full, conversations were going at a good pace and the students seemed to be enjoying themselves already. His attention was caught by movement at the staff table. Dumbledore had stood up and, looking at the students, was striking his knife on his glass to get their attention.

"I thank you all for coming tonight to rekindle a tradition that has been unfortunately uncommon in the past years, the Yule ball. As most of you know we started this tradition again in honor of the Tri-wizard Tournament, two years ago. Our main purpose was for the students of the three different schools of the tournament to meet and make bonds of friendship."

A murmur ran through the hall. Yannick had heard the story of the Tri-wizard tournament from Sean in the third week he had arrived at Hogwarts. The tournament had ended with the death of one of the Hogwarts champion, Cedric Digory, who had belonged to the Hufflepuff house. It was also the year were the rumors about the return of Voldemort had started to be heard in France. Dumbledore cleared his throat before continuing.

"I know some of you still have painful memories of that year." Yannick saw his gaze rest for a few seconds on the table where the Ravenclaw seeker, Cho Chang, and a dark haired boy were sitting. "But our main purpose was achieved in some way. Some of you still have bonds with students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, while others here have discovered friendship in the other houses of this school."

Yannick heard Sean mutter "Try to tell that to Slytherin." which earned him the elbow of Cynthia in his ribs.

"Friendship," Dumbledore continued, "a word that has not been common to hear recently. Yet friendship is what defines the strength of our school. It is this strength that will help us face the future, however dark it may be."

Several students said "hear, hear." at that comment.

"This is why I am declaring that from now on, the Yule ball will take place very year on the last day of school before the Christmas holidays." A cheer ran through the hall. "But now, lets dispense with any further long speeches and let the feast begin!"

The cheer went louder and the students applauded the Headmaster. As it died down Yannick realized that something was different than from the usual dinners, the food had not appeared on the table. Yet Sean was grinning from ear to ear, a steaming venison stew in his plate. He shot a puzzled look at Alex who smiled understandingly at his confusion. She looked at the menu card she had in her hands and said "duck wings". As she said that a plate of very appetizing duck wings appeared before her. Yannick took the card in front of him and started to read the menu proposed. He got another surprise when he realized that his card was not written in English like the one of Alex, but was in French. Some of the meals it proposed were also typically French! Recovering from his surprise he said "boeuf Bourguignon" and was rewarded by a plate of exactly that.

"I could get used to this." he told Alex.

"You never had that in your old school?" she asked him.

"Oh we did have feasts once in a while over there, but nothing as fancy as this."

"How were they?" she asked him.

And the meal went on in conversation about his old school, how it had been over there. Some of the other students at the table talked about other subjects. Sean and Seamus seemed to be hotly engaged into which Quidditch club would win the English Cup this year. Seamus was sure that the Kenmare Kestrels would win while Sean was telling him that the Ballycastle Bats had a better chance.

"Who do you think will actually win?" Yannick quietly asked Alex.

"Well... My opinion is a bit biased of course, being from London, but I think the Falmouth Falcons have some chance. The Kestrels are a good team however and I would not be surprised if they win." she answered.

"Hey Yannick." the date of Hannah Abbot asked him. "Are you still training with your bow in the morning?"

"Why do you ask Stewart?" Yannick asked back, a bit puzzled by that question.

"Well we usually see you from our common room in the East Tower, but we did not see you training in a few days now, so I was wondering."

"I did not know that people were watching me training." Yannick said. "But to answer your question, yes, I still train but due to the weather I decided to run instead, it is more warming. I usually do this by the lake."

"Ah, that is why we don't see you anymore then." Cynthia said.

"But we see you." Seamus said with a grin. "South Tower."

Yannick blushed, a bit embarrassed. "I don't think it is unusual though. I mean I am not the only one that exercises in the mornings." he said defensively.

"No, but you are the only one that does it everyday without fail, even if it is winter now." Alex pointed out.

Yannick opened his mouth to reply to that but could not find anything to say. "Unfair... You always seem to know the exact thing to say that I can't retort to." he told her, making a fake sullen face.

"Why do you think I got sorted into Ravenclaw in the first place?" she asked him with a smile.

"Right. Remind me not to try to win an argument against you." he told her.

"I'll think about it." she told him with a wink.

The feast continued until almost everyone had finished with their meal and were talking lively. Dumbledore got the attention of the students again and asked them to stand up and back away from the tables. Then, with a movement of his wand, the tables disappeared and the chairs went to align themselves in a neat row by the walls. He then moved to the lectern that had appeared in front of the staff table, tapped it three times with his wand, extended his hands and started to make conductor-like motions. The joyful music of a classical waltz started to fill the hall and several students started dancing to the tune. Yannick bowed to Alex and offered his hand. She smiled, took it and followed him to the dance floor.

"Oh my! I never though I would get that dizzy from all that dancing." Alex said holding onto Yannick's arm as they were walking out of the Great Hall, taking some fresh air in the snow covered courtyard.

"Well, I would say that the amount of punch you drunk is not helping that either. Four glasses must be your limit." Yannick told her.

"Four glasses of punch?!" she said, gasping. "Yannick Silverleaf! I only had one." she added, slapping him playfully on the arm and frowning.

"Oh right... I guess I must be the one that had four then." he replied with a laugh.

"You are incorrigible, you know that?" she said, joining his laugh.

"Yeah... I know... and I think I like it that way." he replied with a grin.

"I think I like it too." she told him, holding his arm a bit more tightly.

They continued walking around, just enjoying the fresh air of the night. The stars were shining in the cloudless night sky. Yannick felt Alex shiver a bit.

"Do you want that we go back in?" he asked her.

"Not really. I like it out here, nice and calm. It is a beautiful night." she replied.

"Yeah, the stars are especially bright tonight. You can even make out the milky-way." he said, pointing at the sky.

"Speaking of stars. How did you come to name your wolf Altair?" she asked him.

He let out a chuckle. "Well, it is always better that Vega or Deneb." he replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Vega, Altair and Deneb are three of the brightest stars in the northern sky. They form the summer triangle and you can find many other constellations if you know where those three stars are. When I was small, my grandfather used to show me the stars at night, telling me their names and history. That three stars triangle is the first thing he taught me to recognize." he paused a bit. "When I bonded with Altair, I saw this black wolf pup with golden eyes that looked like stars on his dark coat. I decided to name him Altair and he seems to like it as well."

"It makes more sense now that you say this." Alex told him. "You two seem so close together when you exercise. It is like watching two close friends play." she added.

"Oh, so you are also watching me from your common room in the morning." he chided her.

She blushed a bit. "No, I don't actually." she said.

"Oh..."

"I watch you from my dorm room." she added, giving him a gentle push to the side with her shoulder.

"You do?" he asked, a bit surprised.

"Yeah, I am the one that pointed it out to Cynthia and she... kind of leaked it to some of the other Ravenclaws." she replied.

"I should have known." he said, rolling his eyes.

"Well now you do." she said with a smile. "I just hope... wooops!"

Alex had just slipped on some ice that was on the floor. Yannick felt her fall and quickly grabbed her with both hands to prevent her to hit the ground. He succeeded but at the same time found himself holding her against him.

"Wooops indeed. The floor is slippery." he told her.

"Really? I had not noticed." she said on a mocking tone. "Thanks for the save though." she added with a smile, straightening up.

"You are welcome." he replied. He then realized how little space there was between them and felt himself blushing and tried to move. Alex held him a bit tighter, preventing him to.

"Don't. It is better like that. Warmer." she said smiling at him.

He was about to respond when he heard a sneering voice behind them.

"Awwww, what a cute picture really. Little froggie trying to get cozy with his date."

Yannick recognized the voice and closed his eyes, annoyed. He broke from Alex embrace and turned to face Malfoy. The young Slytherin was standing five meters away, Parkinson snickering beside him.

"You have a problem Malfoy?" He asked coldly.

"My! Aren't we susceptible." Malfoy answered. "I am just amazed that you got yourself a date after all. Too bad that you have such bad taste though. But then, French are known for their mistakes in picking."

Yannick felt anger rising in him at that remark. He walked towards Malfoy.

"I would watch what I say if I were you Malfoy. This is my date you are speaking of." he warned him

"Ooooh. Now he is making threats." Malfoy said with a sly smile. "What are you going to do? Hex me because I said something bad about your sweetheart? You don't even have a wand."

"Don't be too sure about that." Yannick said on a dangerous tone, reaching Malfoy.

"Well I am sure of one thing Silverleaf. You might be a Pureblood wizard but you have very poor taste when it comes to girls."

"Malfoy... This is the second time in less than a minute that you have insulted my date." Yannick said, fuming. "You will apologize to her, now." he added, pointing to Alex.

"Apologize? To this excuse for a witch down there?" Malfoy answered. "I don't think so Silverleaf."

This was getting too much for Yannick. His fists were already closed tight and the knuckles were white from the pressure. He felt an urge to lash out to Malfoy and beat him to pulp for his lack of manners.

"Yannick..." he heard Alex say behind him. "Lets just go."

He sighed. A fight would not solve anything, just make it worse and possibly cost him Alex. He turned around and was about to walk back to her when he heard the sneering voice of Malfoy again.

"That's it you Pureblood disgrace. Obey your Mudblood owner."

Yannick saw red. He spun around lashing out with his right hand, catching Malfoy across the jaw with his closed fist and sending him to the floor.

"How... dare... you..." Yannick seethed, his eyes shooting daggers at Malfoy. "You and your stupid blood purity beliefs. What gives you the right to tell me what I should do with my life?"

Malfoy was starting to get up again, rubbing his jaw. "My father..." he started to mutter.

Yannick grabbed him by the front of his robe, yanked him up and slammed him in the wall on their left.

"Don't even try threatening me Malfoy." he said "In the name of Merlin, I do not know what is wrong in that thick skull of yours. You act as if you owned the school, invoking your father as soon as something is not to your liking, lashing out on anything or anyone that seems to be better than you. You think that because your father is rich and had friends in high places you can go around here doing what you like? You think people are afraid of you because of what your father could do? Is that it? Well I have news for you, you piece of trash. You can't scare me, or my family. I could not care less that your father is in league with Voldemort..."

Malfoy flinched at the name and tried to free himself but he held him in place.

"What? You can't hear the name? You think that because I come from another school, I don't know what happened in England last year? I read the papers too, you know, they are a bit more open on details in France than they are in England and my parents work at the Ministry of Magic now. I know your father was sent to Azkaban and for all I know, he is still there. So don't try to scare me with empty threats" he told him.

Malfoy was livid and tried to take out his wand from his robe. Yannick grabbed it with one hand and wrenching it from Malfoy's grasp, threw the it behind him. He tightened his grip on Malfoy, pushing him harder on the wall. His face was only a few centimeters away from Malfoy's own.

"Now mark my words Malfoy and mark them well in that brain of yours." he said slowly. "Never again try to offend my honor or that of my friends. My life is my own and no one, least of all you, tells me how to live it. Offend me again and Merlin I swear I will give you the beating and humiliation you deserve in front of the whole school. Offend me again and you will have to face what 'Pure-bloods' do to avenge their honor. A duel."

He was about to add something else when he was interrupted by a voice.

"What is going on here? Merlin's beard! Mr Silverleaf, let go of Mr Malfoy at once."

Yannick reluctantly let Malfoy go and turned to face professor McGonagall.

"Now will you two please tell me the meaning of this?" she asked him and Malfoy.

"Silverleaf attacked Draco for no reasons..." Parkinson started to say.

"I do not believe I was asking you Miss Parkinson." professor McGonagall said coolly. "Now, since it seems that Mr Malfoy lost his ability to say anything, I suggest that you take him to the hospital wing to be seen by Madam Pomfrey." she added.

Malfoy did not say anything and left with Parkinson, shooting an angry glare at Yannick before going.

"Now," McGonagall said, turning to face Yannick and Alex. "What did happen? I dare say I can't really imagine you as being one to attack someone for no reason, Mr Silverleaf."

Yannick told her what had happened. "I am sorry professor. It's just, when he said this word, I just snapped. It was too much." he finished.

McGonagall closed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head. She looked at Yannick again.

"Mr Silverleaf, while I understand your reason for attacking Mr Malfoy, you must realize that this type of reaction is not within the rules of this school. I am afraid I must give you a detention for this." she said. Yannick looked at her, a bit shocked. "It is the standard punishment we give here for students who fight between themselves. Do not worry, Mr Malfoy will get his as well and so will Miss Parkinson, for trying to bend the facts. Your detention will be tomorrow with professor Sprout. She will let you know when to be there."

"I understand professor." Yannick said. "I will do my detention."

"Very good Mr Silverleaf. Now, seeing the time I think it is time that you accompany this young lady to her common room and then rejoin your own for the night."

He smiled. "Yes professor."

"Good." McGonagall said before walking back towards the Great Hall. "And please try to stay out of trouble this time. I don't really enjoy punishing students on the start of the holidays."

Yannick looked at her go through the door and then let out a deep sigh of frustration. He had lost it and that had earned him a detention. "What a great way to start the holidays." he thought . He was brooding about that when he felt the hand of Alex on his back.

"I am sorry Alex." he said, turning around and taking her hand in his.

"For what?" she said, looking at him in the eyes. "For trying to beat some sense in this brainless git because he offended me? Honestly! I was about to hex him myself Nick. You were in my way actually." she added, waving her wand in front of him.

"You had your wand on you?" he asked surprised. "I did not even notice. Where do you keep it?"

"That, I am not telling." she said with a sly grin

Yannick chuckled. "Hmmm, I am growing curious... Let me guess..."

"You'd better not try." she warned him playfully. "So, will you escort me to my quarters? Or do I have to walk there by myself?" she asked.

"I am at my lady's service." he answered, bowing and offering his arm to her.

She smiled at this and took it and they walked back to the Great Hall. As they entered Yannick saw that most of the students had already gone and that there were just about dozen couples left that were dancing to a slow romantic tune. He recognized Sean and Cynthia in the group, they were dancing close together, Cynthia's head resting on Sean's shoulder. He pointed them out to Alex.

"Should we join them?" he asked.

She chuckled. "And ruin their moment? Don't be heartless Nick." She said with a smile. "Cynthia is in good hands. Come on, lets go." she added, gently pulling him towards the Entrance Hall.

"Mr Silverleaf, your detention officially ended almost thirty minutes ago." professor Sprout told Yannick as she entered the greenhouse number five. "Why are you still here?" she asked, shaking her green cloak to make the snow fall from it.

He looked up from the Bonsai tree that he was carefully trimming. "Really professor? I did not see the time pass. I guess I was too busy with trimming this Bonsai here. It needed it."

"I don't recall that this was part of what I had asked you Mr Silverleaf." she told him, frowning a bit. "You were to re-pot the wolfsbane shrubs that I received a week ago."

"Oh this is done since almost an hour professor." he replied, pointing to the freshly re-potted shrubs. "I had nothing to do after that and still had some detention time left. I saw the Bonsai and decided to make myself useful."

"You re-potted all of them?" she asked, a bit surprised.

"Well yes. It was quite easy."

"Tell me, do you have prior experience on this?" she asked him.

"On re-potting wolfsbane? Yes." he answered truthfully. "My father is a Herbologist, professor, remember? I have been knee deep in plants since I was born." he added with a smile.

"Of course. I should have remembered that." she said, looking the wolfsbane shrub over. "These seem to be well re-potted indeed. A very nice job."

"Thank you professor"

She went over to him and looked at the work he had done on the tree. "My, this well done as well. Just trim a bit more on the left here and at the top there and it should be fine for a while." she said. "But I would suggest you hurry to go back to the castle right after, though. We have a blizzard picking up and it will be very hard to find your way if you get caught in it." she added.

"I'll make it quick professor." he told her.

"Good. I am going back to greenhouse three." she said heading to the entrance. "Do not forget to close the door tightly when you go out." she added before going out.

Yannick finished to trim the parts of the Bonsai that were still needing it and looked at the small tree. "Much better!" he thought. "And now, a little plus." He took out a bottle of plant feeding agent that he had gotten from his father from his pocket and let a few drops of it fall on the tree's soil. The Bonsai seem to shiver a bit but then looked more fresh and lively than it had been when he started trimming it. He smiled and went to do the same for the wolfsbane shrubs. After fifteen minutes he closed the bottle again and put it in his pocket. He made sure that the tools he had used were in order and then walked towards the entrance of the greenhouse. He could hear the wind blowing outside. "Looks like the blizzard is picking up already." He thought, picking up his cloak. "Hope I can still see where I go." He had barely finished this thought when he looked through the small window in the door. The blizzard was going in force and the visibility was very poor. He could barely make out the castle. "Great! Absolutely Great! I am in for a hell of a time to reach the castle."

He sighed, pulled on his hood and grabbed his cloak tighter around him so as to be better covered. He then opened the door, quickly went out and closed the door tightly so it would not open by itself due to the strong wind. He was surprised by the strength of the wind and considered to go back into the greenhouse and wait for the blizzard to calm down but he reasoned against it. This blizzard could continue for the rest of the day and the night was only hours away. Besides, it was soon dinner time and he was starting to be hungry. He started trudging towards the direction of the castle, one hand holding his cloak tight, the other covering his eyes so he could see something. The snow was thick already an the wind was lashing out on him as thought it did not want him to reach his destination. He lost sight of the castle at one point and after turning around on the spot he realized that he could not make out which way he was going anymore, he could not even see the greenhouses. He took out his wand a tried to do a four pointed spell on it so as to see where north was. As he held it in his hand the wind suddenly picked up strength again and made him lose his footing. As he tried to regain it he slackened his grip on his wand and the wind made it fly to his left.

"Oh bon sang! C'est pas vrai!" he thought "ACCIO WAND!!!" he shouted, extending his hand towards where the wand had been sent to. Nothing happened.

Cursing he started walking towards where the wand had gone, trying to hold his cloak as close as he could to protect himself from the wind. He walked for a minute and tried again the summoning spell. This time he was rewarded by his wand coming to his hand again. He secured it in its sheath on his left arm. "No point in losing it again." he thought. "But where am I now." he asked himself, looking around. He could not see the castle anymore. He turned on himself, trying to make out a familiar shape or something that might help him. The wind was still blowing strong and the flying snow it carried was almost blinding him. He was about to give up when he saw a grey shape. "A tree." he thought "The forbidden forest must be that way. I can seek shelter there." He started walking again, trying to not be blown off course by the wind. He was using his left hand to hold his hood in place, holding it at the front. The wind died down a bit and he started to progress a bit easier. Unfortunately it did not last and soon, the blizzard was going again at full force. He could make out the gray shape of the tree still and continued to struggle towards it. After some time he finally came to a point where he could make out the branches of the tree and saw the shape of its trunk. A sudden howl stopped him in his tracks.

"Altair? Danger?" he thought as he recognized what the howl meant. His eyes went wide when he realized where he had walked to, the Whomping Willow. He saw movement on his left, the tree was swinging a large branch in his direction. He instinctively brought his left arm in front of him to try to block the hit. He felt the heavy blow connecting with his arm and slamming it back to his chest, something cracked sending a wave of pain in his arm. He felt thrown in the air by the next blow when it connected with his chest and then with his head. He landed on hard his back, the snow providing a poor cushion against the frozen ground underneath. Another wave of pain shot through his body and then... everything went black.

--------

"Oh Christ! This can't be true!" or "This can't be happening!"


	9. Chapter 9

Well, here goes the ninth chapter of this fic. I hope you are liking what you are reading so far. This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but important nonetheless. I'll also point out that reviews are appreciated. It helps me to know what people think of this story. ;-)

**Chapter 9: Meeting**

When he opened his eyes again he was in the forest, sitting in the snow with his back to a tree. The blizzard seemed to have stopped. Everything was peacefully quiet. He got to his feet and looked around, trying to guess where in the forbidden forest he was. He turned around and what he saw froze his blood. He was not in the forbidden forest. He knew exactly where he was. This tree was forever engraved in his memory since a fateful winter evening seven years ago. He had been avoiding it since and now here he was, facing this same tree in the middle of the enchanted forest at home.

"What is going on?" he though "How did I get here?"

He kneeled down by the tree and looked into the familiar small alcove a sickness in the ages-old tree had caused. The place where he had found her, seemingly sleeping. He felt grief come to him again; the wound he had tried to close was getting re-opened by what he saw. The snow of where she he had found her was untouched. His hand touched the spot and what he felt was not what he expected.

"What sort of trickery is this?"

The snow was not cold to the touch. Come to think of it, he did not feel cold either. He had been sitting at the very spot and the snow had no marks of it. What was going on? Where was he? Why did he not seem to affect what was around him?

"Because you do not belong to this place" a voice said behind.

He froze in place again, staring at the tree.

"Then why was I brought here?" he finally managed to ask.

"To let go of the past." the voice answered.

"Let go of the past? Why? Why would I want to? Why would I even try?"

"One who dwells on the past cannot focus on the present, much less on the future." the voice said again.

"But I have moved on. I am able to focus on the present" he countered.

"Have you really?" the voice asked. "Can you look ahead of you without being afraid of what the future might hold for you?"

"I like it that way."

"You don't and you know it. You have not been truly happy since that night."

These words cut through his heart like daggers. He felt tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Why are you here?" he asked on a barely audible tone.

"Because you did not let go of the past, Yannick. You still hold on to it."

He slowly turned around and looked at the origin of the voice. She was there, looking at him with her hazel eyes, the soft breeze that had just started, blowing through her long blond hair and making the garment of her white robe ripple. She looked older, the same age as him.

"How can it be Gwen?" he asked her. "How can I even see you?"

"You are not in the real world Nick. You are between planes."

"Am I dead?" he asked.

"No." she answered. "And I don't think you will be anytime soon, either."

"Then why was I brought here?"

"To let go of the past" she repeated.

"How can I? Why would I?" he asked fiercely. "Why would I let go of the only person I truly cared for in my life?" he added.

She shot him a saddened look. "I know how you feel Nick..."

"You don't know how I feel!!!" he shouted. "Ever since that night I have felt as if some part of me was missing!!! I have re-lived the moment I found you under that tree a thousand times over?! Asking myself how, if I I had accompanied you to your house, you would still be around. How, if I had not stayed behind, we would have gone to school together." he looked at her again. "Gwen, I can't let go of you. I loved you. I still do."

"And I still love you as well, Nick." she answered him. "I always will. But you can't go on this way. Each day accusing yourself. Even if you don't show it to the ones around you. You can't hide behind a mask forever Nick." she added.

"I prefer the mask."

"But some people can see through the mask." she told him.

This remark shook him. "Alex." he said softly.

"Yes. She has seen through it. She has seen the real you."

"She was the first person I ever told of that night and how I really felt. She told me to let go as well, that you were not accusing me of your death." he said.

"She was right Nick. I don't."

"How can you not?" he asked her.

"Because I was already dead when you left your house to search for me, Nick." she replied with tears in her eyes. "I saw you give the handkerchief to Altair to find me. I followed you while you searched the forest. I was overjoyed when you found my body but also sad when I saw you crying, holding it and all I could do was watch without being able to comfort you. You were blaming yourself for a failure that never happened. I don't blame you Nick. I never have and I never will."

He stood there, looking at the ground.

"You asked me earlier why I had stayed. Why I had not moved on." she continued "I stayed because I saw that you were still grieving and that you were not letting go. You put on a mask for the rest of the world to see and you shut yourself behind it. No one apart from your parents and Gran saw that when you were in Morbihan's school. In Hogwarts, two persons, at least, have seen through it."

He looked at her again.

"Alex and Sean." he said weakly.

"Yes. Sean realized when he saw how you reacted on his prodding about Alex. She realized it when you began to avoid her. She saw that you were still holding onto some grief."

"So that is why they are friends with me. Because they feel sorry."

"Nick, that is not true." she countered. "They are your friends because they saw who you really are, not the mask."

As she said this, Yannick recalled what Alex had told him.

_"I met you two weeks ago and I found a young man who could loose his temper and blame others but who also saw his own mistakes. Someone that was ready to even help a person he hardly knew. And that is why I am trying to be your friend, to talk to you, to try to know you better... because I liked what I saw."_

"You need to stop grieving Nick. Let go of the mask and be who you truly are." she said.

He looked at her silently, pondering what she had just said.

"I still think I could have saved you if I had come with you." he finally said.

She shot him a pained expression.

"Nick, nothing, nothing at all could have saved me. If you had been there, you would have died as well."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked.

"Because I know."

"What happened then?"he asked her. "Why did you leave off the path in the woods?"

Her eyes went sad again. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because you must see it for yourself."

"What? How?" he started. "This happened seven years ago Gwen. All I can see now is the rune-stone of remembrance that our parents laid at this spot." he added pointing and looking at a direction on his left. His eyes looked for the stone but it was nowhere to be seen. Snow was starting to fall. He looked at Gwen again.

"It's not there. We are not in the present." he said. She shook her head sadly. "We are on that evening... aren't we?" he asked her. She nodded. "Why?"

"Because you must know Nick." she said. "But most important, you must let go."

Movement on his right caught his attention. A ten year old Gwendall had appeared, laughing excitedly while pursuing a little red light. She was nearing the tree where he had woken up. He felt the warmth draining from his face.

"No... Gwen! Get away from this light!" he moaned to the little girl.

"She can't hear you Nick. This is only a memory." Gwen told him. "You cannot affect it."

"But this light. It is not natural. It is magical." he told her.

"Yes, I know. I realized that too, but it was too late." she told him sadly.

Yannick looked around trying to find something or affect something that would get the little girl to run away from the light. As he did so his eyes fell upon a dark shape that stood between two trees, its slender grayish hand holding a black wand and waving it around. The light was following the movements.

"Nox." the shape said in a low voice.

The little light disappeared surprising the young Gwen who looked around, apparently suddenly realizing how far into the woods she had strayed from the path.

"_Khelek hurro'!_" the dark shape said, making a large movement with its wand. The air around seemed to go colder, the wind picked up and a snow storm suddenly started.

"The storm of that night." Yannick thought aloud.

The young Gwendall retreated in to the tree, trying to take shelter in the small alcove. The distant howl of a wolf was heard. The dark shape looked in the direction of the noise and she took notice of its presence.

"Yannick!!! Altair!!! Help!!!" she shouted, the fear in her young voice easily distinguishable.

The dark shape let out an evil laugh and advanced towards her, its face invisible under the black cloak's hood.

"Your friends are of no help to you little one," the shape said with a sneering voice. "You cannot escape me."

The voice sounded masculine but had a strange accent to it. The language of the incantation it had said was familiar to Yannick but he somehow could not place where he had heard it before. He reached for his wand but found that nothing was on his left arm, he was wand-less.

"What do you want from me?"

"Your death," the shape answered, "Your purpose here is to die. So I can have my revenge, my sweet revenge."

Slowly the shape raised its wand and started to mutter an incantation. The young Gwendall curled into a ball in fear of what was to come.

"_Ringwe gurfha!_" the shape said. A blue light emitted from the tip of its wand and shot towards the young Gwendall.

"NO!! GWEN!!!" Yannick shouted, launching himself to tackle the dark shape.

"You cannot prevent it Nick." he heard Gwendall say after him.

He did not care, this could not happen, not again. While he ran towards the shape he saw the blue light hit the young Gwendall. She went limp instantly, and the way she rested now made it look as though she was sleeping.

"But she is frozen. Dead and frozen." he thought. "You scum-bag!!!" he shouted as he leaped towards the dark shape. He prepared for the impact but it never occurred. He instead went through the shape and found himself immersed in the dark again.

He seemed to be floating, as if in space but there were no stars, just plain darkness.

"Where did I end up now?" he asked himself.

"You are still in between planes. Just that this time there is no memory to look at." Gwendall said, appearing beside him.

He looked at her with a pained expression.

"Why did you show me this?" he asked her.

"Because you had the right to know, Nick." she answered. "You cannot go on blaming yourself for something you could not prevent."

"So this was supposed to make me feel better?" he asked sarcastically. "Gwen, it only re-opened the wound."

"Sometimes it is better to do this to a wound that does not heal. So it can mend correctly after." she replied.

"I do not want it to heal." he said. "I do not want to forget you."

"Nick... healing does not mean forgetting. It means learning to move on." she told him. "You cannot keep on like this. You are closing yourself to anyone who tries to get close to you."

"That is not true." he countered. "I opened up to Alex."

"Did you truly open up to her, Nick?" Gwen asked him. "Did you tell here you family's story? Did you tell her of your bond to Altair?"

Yannick looked away.

"Did you ask her about her own family? Did you really try to spend some time with her to know her better?" she continued.

"No." he admitted.

"See?" she told him. "This is what I am trying to tell you. You are still hiding behind a mask. Trying to convince people that you are happy and are not held back by past experiences." she continued. "Nick, you need to let go of the past and focus on the present to be able to face the future."

"The pain won't go away if I let go." he said weakly.

"No. It will not." she said. "I will not lie to you Nick. The past can hurt but it only takes a long time to heal if you stay focused on it and do not talk about it. But even the most painful experiences can be helpful in some way. You can always learn from your past."

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Why must life be so cruel sometimes?" he asked her.

"Life is what you make it. It does not control you."

"So, you are saying that I am responsible for what happened?"

"No. I am saying that by not letting go, by not allowing it to heal, you are becoming effect of life itself and you will not be able to control your future."

Yannick's attention was caught by a light that had appeared in the darkness. He felt strangely pulled towards it.

"Nick, look at me." Gwen told him. He faced her once more. "I cannot keep you here longer as it would damage your body. I want you to know, I will never hold it against you to be happy. Your happiness will fill me with joy in turn. I love you Nick, and I always will."

"I love you too Gwen." he said while still being pulled towards the light.

"I know Nick. I never doubted it." she said smiling. "We will meet again. But in the meantime, let go of the past and heal." she added, as he entered the light.

He felt blinded by the brightness of it and closed his eyes. He felt his surroundings changing. The floating feeling disappeared and was replaced by that of a bed and a blanket covering him partly. He felt a hand on his forehead. He opened his eyes, his eyelids feeling strangely heavy. His eyes met two other, green like his. His vision came back into focus and saw a woman looking at him smiling gently.

"Mum?" he asked, his voice still weak.

"Welcome back Nickie." she said smiling and stroking his hair.

"How... how did..." he tried to ask, but she interrupted him softly.

"Ssshhhh... do not try to speak. You are still weak and need rest." she said. Besides..." she added, nodding to his left.

He looked there and saw that Alex was sitting on a chair next to his bed, sleeping, a blanket partly covering her. She was holding his left hand in hers.

"She would not go to sleep in her room until you had recovered." his mother answered his silent question.

"How long was I unconscious?" he asked her weakly.

"Not long Nickie," she replied. "A bit more than a day. Dumbledore asked me to come when Madam Pomfrey could not break your fever."

He tried to ask her something else but she prevented him by softly putting her hand on his mouth.

"You need to rest my Nick." she said, bending over and kissing him on his forehead. "We will talk more tomorrow." she added, straightening up.

"Mum?"

"Yes Nickie?"

"Thank you."

She feigned indignation. "Really! What type of mother and healer would I be if I left my own son stranded in nothingness, knowing that he might not be able to come back?" she smiled again and caressed his cheek. "Sleep now, you need it if you want to be able to get out of bed tomorrow." she added with a wink.

Yannick smiled and then closed his eyes again. He heard the soft footsteps of his mother leaving and the door of the Hospital Wing opening to let her through. Then there was a silence that was only interrupted by the peaceful breathing of a sleeping Alex. He listened to it, letting it drag him slowly back into sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Waking up**

He woke up early the next morning, the light of the rising sun starting to show through the Hospital Wing's windows. He felt good, more rested and also more peaceful than he had felt in a long time. He looked on his left, Alex was still there, sleeping. She had changed her position during the night and now was using a side of his bed to rest her head on her arms. He smiled, her face was turned towards him. She looked so peaceful that he did not dare move for fear of waking her up. The parting words of Gwen came back to his mind.

_"We will meet again. But in the meantime, let go of the past and heal."_

He sighed. He had so many questions still.

He looked at his bedside table, a small plant was there with a 'get well' note from Sean and some fellow students. He reached to the plant, trying to move as little as he could to not wake Alex up, and started to stroke it, passing his hand through its leaves. He got a feeling as he did this which surprised him. The plant felt alive. He looked at it a bit more intently. Had it just gone a bit brighter in its green shade? He shook his head after a minute of pondering.

"I must be imagining things." he thought.

He crossed his arms behind his head and started thinking about what had happened during his unconscious period. His talk with Gwen, her showing him her death. She had been so right. He had been crushed by the events of that fateful night. Each time he used to remember them he would feel grief and pain resurfacing. However, now that he had seen what had happened, that he had 'talked' to her and found out that she did not blame him at all, the grief and pain was much less. He sighed. The wound that had been re-opened by what he had seen would heal better now. He looked at Alex again and saw that she was looking at him, her head still resting on her arms.

"Good morning." he said

"'morning." she replied, stifling a yawn.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to see that you are still thinking a lot to yourself." she said. "But you are cute when you are deep in thoughts." she added with a smile.

He blushed a bit at the remark and lowered his eyes. She straightened up and stretched.

"Oy! I must remember that sleeping in a chair for a night is never that comfortable." she said, rubbing her back.

"Sorry to have caused you to do that." he said. "But I am really glad you stayed around." he added.

"I could not leave you in a bed, unconscious and sick with fever." she said, looking at him seriously. "Madam Pomfrey was really puzzled by it, though. She did not manage to break it with her usual potions. Dumbledore had to call St Mungo's for a special healer to come. I found out after she had arrived that she was your mother."

"I guess I should have told you that she was a healer." he said. " There are many things I should have told you about me." he added.

"Nick, this is not really the time for that." she said smiling. "I am really happy to see that you are alright now." she added, reaching over and caressing his cheek with the palm of her hand.

They looked at each other, not moving or saying anything, until the sound of someone clearing her throat disturbed them. Madam Pomfrey was standing in the opening of the curtain that was drawn around the bed, looking slightly amused at the sight they offered. They both blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed to have been caught like this.

"Glad to see you back amongst the living Mr. Silverleaf." she said "I have a special visitor who has made me understand that he absolutely wants to see you. Should I let him in?"

He looked at her, puzzled by what she had just said. Who could be so intent on seeing him? And how could they know he was awake already?

"I guess it is fine." he said warily. "Let him in."

He saw her waving her wand in the direction of the door. It creaked and the sound of running on the ward's stone floor was heard. Yannick recognized it.

"Uh-oh..." he said, sinking a bit in his bed sheets. "I think I know who that is... I am in for a rebuke." he added.

The curtain flapped as something passed under and a dark shape leaped on the bed, landing its two front paws on his chest, causing him to let out the air he had in his lungs.

"Ouch! Glad to see you too Altair." Yannick said to the wolf.

Altair was looking at him straight in the face, his golden eyes glaring. Yannick understood his reaction.

"I am sorry to have caused you worry my friend." he said.

The wolf snorted and uttered a low growl, that ended with a snap of his jaws. Yannick saw that Madam Pomfrey looked a bit worried by the wolf's behavior.

"Look, I did not think I would get lost in that blizzard in the first place." he told the wolf.

Altair turned around and sat down at the end of the bed, his back facing Yannick.

"Oh, come on Altair..." he said. "You are really going to hold it against me like that?"

The wolf turned his head and shot him a side-look and then looked back towards the curtain, tilting his head up a bit more and snorting again.

"Hey... Altair... I really am sorry. I know how you get worried when I am in trouble." Yannick said. "I would act the same if you were in danger yourself."

The wolf did not move.

"I really am sorry Altair." he said again. "I promise that from now on I will call for you as soon as I need your help." he added, sitting up and reaching to pull the wolf in an embrace. "Thanks for warning me back then, though. You prevented me from really getting badly mauled by the willow. I was able to be somewhat prepared for the hits." he leaned back in his bed, dragging the wolf with him. "Thank you very much my friend." he said in the wolf's ear and scratching his belly.

Altair let out a a whine, gave him a push with his head and started to lick him on the face. Yannick smiled hugging the wolf.

"I think you owe him more than that, Nick." Alex said softly.

"What do you mean?" he asked her, puzzled.

"We would not have found you in the blizzard if it was not for him." she said. "Sean came to see me at dinner as you had still not come back from detention and the blizzard was raging outside. He thought you were with me. When I told him I had not seen you since the morning he really got worried and together with Cynthia, we went to look out from a window where we could see the greenhouses. We saw that the lights were off in all of them, which meant that you were not there. I think you can imagine how that got us even more worried." she added.

"I definitely can." he told her.

"We were about to go to warn a teacher when we heard a howl coming from outside. Cynthia thought it was a werewolf and to tell you the truth, I thought she was right at first. The only thing that got me thinking of Altair is that the howl continued and was sounding very mournful." she continued. "When I realized that we decided to go out and we grabbed our coats in a hurry. It was not easy to walk in that weather and the snow made it even harder. We followed Altair's howls and we found him on top of you, apparently keeping you warm. He was aggressive at first but he let me approach you when he recognized me. From there we carried you back to the castle and brought you over to Madam Pomfrey. You were not in a good shape, that is for sure and without Altair, we would never have found you in time."

Yannick was silent as Alex's words sinked in him. He gently took Altair by the neck and looked at the wolf in the eyes.

"That is the second time you save my life my friend. I'll never forget that." he said, pulling the wolf in another embrace.

Alex looked at the both of them and smiled. "You two offer such a sight, you know." she said. "The friendship between you and Altair is quite amazing."

"It always has been." a voice said from the opening in the curtains.

Yannick looked up and smiled. "Good morning Mum."

"Good morning Mrs Silverleaf." Alex said politely, looking at Yannick's mother. She was still dressed in the clothes she had worn the day before but her face was not looking worried anymore and you could see she was happy to see her son was well again.

"Good morning you two." she said as she went to sit down at the far left of the bed. Altair lifted his head and shot her a questioning look. "Sorry, you three. I did not forget you Altair, you know that." she added, looking at the wolf. "Besides, I do not think that Madam Pomfrey likes the idea of a big wolf being on Yannick's bed. So come on, get back on the floor." she said, gently pushing him.

Altair let out a small whine and looked at her sadly. He went off the bed and sat down on the right of it, resting his head on the mattress and looking a bit sulky. Yannick let out a chuckle and ruffled the wolf's hair with his hand.

"Comedian." he said on a false reproachful tone.

"To answer your question Alexandra," Mrs Silverleaf said, looking at her. "Yannick and Altair share a bond that we have yet to fully understand. Not that it is unusual, there has always been a wolf pack in the enchanted forest and there are several instances of Silverleaf wizards having a wolf for a companion. The oddity with the bond of those two is that Altair seems to know when Yannick is in danger or hurt, and vice versa."

"So that is how Altair managed to find him in the blizzard?" Alex asked.

Mrs Silverleaf nodded.

"Wow. This is so cool." she said, looking at Altair. "How many wizards have had this type of bond in the history of your family?" she asked.

"Actually, not that many." Mrs Silverleaf replied. "I would love to go on and explain the history of the Silverleaf family but I am unfortunately not a good story teller and I think it is best someone who actually is one, tells it to you." she added.

"Oh." Alex said, looking a bit disappointed. "It is alright."

"Now that I think of it. Why is the school so silent on the first days of holiday?" Yannick asked, changing the subject.

Alex smiled. "That is normal actually. Most of the students went home with the Hogwarts Express yesterday." she told him.

"But... It was supposed to leave today, no?"

"Nick, you were unconscious for a day." she reminded him.

"Oh... but then, why are you still here? I did not know you were staying over the holidays." he asked her.

"I am not. I should have gone yesterday with Sean and Cynthia." she replied. "On the other hand, you were not better, your fever still high and Madam Pomfrey did not know what to do. Dumbledore had said he was getting your mother to come but she was not there yet, so I stayed."

"I am sorry that you missed you trip back because of me." he told her.

"Why should you be sorry, Nick?" she asked him. "I would not be much of a friend to just leave you when you need someone to look after you."

"But your family. They must have been expecting you."

"Don't worry about that. I sent an owl to my parents, letting them know I would arrive a few days later due to a friend being injured." she said. "Besides, I am sure Professor Dumbledore will help me get to London." she added.

"You will not even need to ask him, Alexandra." Mrs Silverleaf said. "I have already talked to him and you are coming with us to Silverleaf manor in France by portkey. From there we can get you to London without a problem by either portkey or floo network, whatever you prefer." she added with a smile.

"I don't really want to impose myself Mrs. Silverleaf. I am sure Professor Dumbledore can arrange something..." she started but Mrs Silverleaf cut her of gently.

"You are not imposing yourself my dear. It is the least I can do to thank you for having stayed around when Yannick needed it." she said. "Now, I have already taken care of packing some things for him..."

Yannick shot her a surprised look.

"Yes Nickie, I can enter a boy's dormitory." she told him "The rule applies to girls, not grown and married women. I have read 'Hogwarts: a history', you know. I must say that I did find some things that were... interesting." she added, with a sly smile.

"What? MUM!?!" he exclaimed.

"Oh don't worry. I wont tell anyone." she told him, smiling even more.

Yannick let out a groan of despair and sank back in his bed, his left arm flung across his face to cover his eyes.

Alex let out an amused chuckle. "What interesting things are there in your room, Nick?" she asked, looking at him slyly.

"I will only talk in presence of my defense representative." he said grumpily.

His remark made his mother and Alex laugh harder.

"I'm just teasing you Nickie." his mother told him, patting his knee affectionately. "Anyway," she added, turning to Alex. "You should go along and get ready. Just meet us in the Great Hall when you are."

Alex stood up. "Thank you very much Mrs Silverleaf." she said.

"Don't mention it dear." Mrs Silverleaf replied. Alex went out of the drapes enclosure and towards the ward's entrance.

"She is a very pleasant girl" () Mrs Silverleaf said when Alex had left from the ward.

"Yeah... She is." Yannick replied, sitting up on his bed again.

"She kind of reminds me of Gwendall in a way." she said. "The pointed questions. The thirst for knowing more. She also seems to have good manners."

"Mum..." he said, interrupting her. The pain was coming again. His mother looked at him, concerned by the emotion in his voice. "I saw her." he told her. "When I was knocked out. I saw Gwen. I talked to her. It was so real... so real." he added, feeling some tears welling up in his eyes.

His mother pulled him in a soft embrace. "I know Nickie." she said softly. "I know exactly what you went through. And yes, it was real."

He pulled away from her. "How could it be... Mum... I am lost. I also feel that it was real but... how could I speak with someone that was dead since years?"

She put her finger on his mouth to stop him from talking. "I know it is hard to understand Nickie. This is why we are going to the family house without passing by London. You need to speak with Gran. She will answer your question and explain things to you better than I can."

"So Gran knows what happened?" he asked

"I warned her as soon as I got the message from Dumbledore. She had felt something was wrong." she replied. "When I arrived here, you were not in a good shape. Madam Pomfrey had tended to your wounds. You had gotten a punctured lung, the left arm cracked and a gash on the forehead. She was able to get this fixed but you had a fever she could not bring down and had started trashing in your bed. She told me that Alexandra had come and that her holding your hand had calmed you a bit, but the fever was still up. That is when I started on you. I got you off the fever and hurried the healing of the wounds you had. It took me longer to get you back but you are here now, so I think I was successful, no?" she finished with a smile to her son.

He smiled back. "Yeah. You definitely were Mum." he replied. He looked at his left arm and move it around. "I don't feel any pain there." He noticed a red patch of skin under the forearm. "A burn?" He looked at his mother. "How was I burned on my arm?" he asked.

"You apparently tried to fend off the Whomping Willow with your left arm." she told him. "Unfortunately, this is also where you have your wand-sheath and the impact damaged your wand. It looks cracked and has burned a bit. I think the snow prevented it from getting further damaged." she added, handing him his wand.

He took it. The wand did not react to his touch. He gave it a wave but nothing happened at all. The warm feeling that usually permeated the wand was not there anymore.

"It's broken." he told her. "I can't use it anymore." he added, looking at his now useless wand. This last sentence left him feeling hollow inside.

() As you might have guessed, private talks between Yannick and his mother are in French.

"I'll always love this room." Yannick thought as they appeared that afternoon in the porting room of the Silverleaf family house. The story he had heard about its creation was that one of his ancestors back in the 16th century had had enough of people appearing anywhere in the house and had charmed this room so that anyone porting or apparating to Silverleaf manor would appear in this room and nowhere else. It seemed he took this decision after someone had ported in his bathroom while he was taking his bath. The room also had a fireplace that was the only one openly connected to the Floo Network. Yannick looked at Alex, who was apparently awed by the size of the room. He had to admit it was a bit breath taking to one who had never seen it. The room was high and spacious to allow large groups to port in and was illuminated by the big fireplace and the chandeliers that were spread evenly on the four walls. They were now facing the big oak double door that opened to the entrance hall of the manor. These had been charmed as well to only let in those persons with no evil intentions. His great grandfather had reinforced the spell after a known burglar had managed to bypass it and steal a rather expensive painting, which now hung in the Louvre in Paris. Since then there had been no incidents.

"Well," his mother said, getting him back into present time. "Welcome to Silverleaf manor Alexandra. You can leave your things here, they will be taken care of by the House-Elves."

Yannick went over to Alex. "Let me take care of that for you." he said, gently taking the strap of her bag.

"Thank you." she replied.

He went over to one of the empty shelves by the left wall and dropped his things and Alex's bag there. As he did this he heard the door of the room creak open.

"YANNICK!!!" a young voice shouted before a running noise was heard.

He had just time to turn around before being hit by a mass and falling on the floor, his vision obstructed by long honey-blond hair.

"Ouch! Why does everyone that likes me need to show it by getting me floored?" he complained.

"Missed you too!" the little girl told him, playfully slapping him on the arm.

"How are you little devil?" he asked her, kissing her on the cheek.

"Much better now that you are here!"

"Good to hear. Do you mind getting off me so I can get up?"

"Actually... yes. I do mind." she said, suddenly turning serious.

"Oh?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"You did not write to me." she said, sitting on his chest and crossing her arms.

"I sent you a birthday present and card." he countered.

"But that was the only time." she replied.

"Oh come on now. I was at school. Did not have a lot of time."

"You managed to write each two weeks to your parents."

"That is different."

"Oh?" she asked "Why is that?"

"Well, they are my family..."

"So am I!" she cut him off.

"I know, but they are my parents."

"So?"

"So it is normal that I write to them a lot."

"You could still have written to me more often."

He let out a sigh. "You are not going to let go of this, right?"

"Nope!"

"Can I stand up?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Not until I get a valid reason."

"I can be nasty." he said with a sly smile. "You are still ticklish, right?"

"Oh don't you dare!" she said laughing and trying to get away from him. She was not fast enough unfortunately as he caught her, stood up carrying her across his shoulders like a bag and tickling her.

"No... Ah.. not faAAiir!" she complained laughing, as he walked back towards his mother and Alex, who looked very amused by the whole scene.

"Okay, Alex. I would like you to meet this little devil here, also known as my cousin, Alwena Silverleaf." he said pointing to the little girl he was carrying. "Alwena, this is Alexandra Dewitt, a good friend from Hogwarts."

"Pleased to meet you." Alwena said, reaching with her hand to Alex.

"The pleasure is all mine." Alex replied taking the little girl's hand in hers.

"Can you tell him to put me down?" Alwena asked her.

"What makes you think that I will if she asks?" Yannick asked his cousin, tickling her a bit more.

"This is really unfair!" she said. "Auntie Izabelle? Help?"

Yannick's mother chuckled in amusement. "Let her down Nickie." she told her son.

"Nah... I think she likes it up here." he replied. "Don't you, little devil?" he added tickling her more.

"You'll regret it when I finally get my wand, you know." Alwena told him in between laughs.

"I think we should go to meet the rest of the family that is present today." Yannick's mother interrupted.

"Good idea." he said before following her out of the room, still carrying his cousin and Alex walking by his side.

They found the rest of the family in the manor's main living room, they were apparently all around a small table, looking at two men playing a game of chess. One of the players looked up when they entered and smiled.

"Well Yves," he said to the other player "It seems that fate is again preventing me from giving you the chess beating you need." he added standing up laughing.

"Laugh all you might Dom." the other player replied. "I am not the one who just lost his queen." he added with a contended smile.

"Mum! Help me!" Alwena pleaded to a woman with black hair that was coming to meet them.

"Well I see that she found you first Yannick, as always." she said as she reached them.

"I swear, Aunt Rozenn. She must have that room under surveillance. She popped in barely a minute after we arrived." he told her. "Do you think the House-Elves need some help in the kitchen? I am sure she could help them." he added, pointing at his cousin.

She let out a little laugh at his remark. "I see you haven't changed Yannick." she said. "Now put her down so I can give you the hug you deserve."

Yannick let his cousin down and hugged her in the best way he could. His aunt was six months pregnant now, and it was starting to show.

"How is my next little cousin doing?" he asked her.

"Doing well and should be in the family in March if all goes well."

"Of course everything will go well Rozie." said Dominic Silverleaf. "I have never known you to fail at anything sis'." he added, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Being nice to my wife will not exempt you from finishing the game, Dom." Yves said, gently embracing her from behind. "It is good to see you again Yannick." he said to his nephew.

"It is good to see you too Uncle." Yannick replied, before giving a fierce hug to Dominic.

"How are you Son?" Dominic asked him, returning the hug.

"Much better than a day ago." he replied.

"That is good to hear." Dominic told him. "And I believe this is your friend from school?" he added, motioning towards Alex, who stood shily back. "How about you introduce her to the family?"

"Uh... right." he went with his father to Alex. "Alex? I'd like you to meet my father, Dominic. Dad, this is Alexandra Dewitt, a good friend in Hogwarts."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Alexandra. Welcome to Silverleaf Manor." Mr Silverleaf said, extending his hand to her.

"Thank you sir." she replied, taking it.

Yannick introduced Alex to the rest of the family, starting with the nearest, his Uncle Yves and Aunt Rozenn and continuing to the remaining occupants of the room, his other Uncle Gael, his wife Sonia and their children, the twins Sébastien and Matthieu and their older sister, Laure. Last he introduced her to his father's parents, Gabriel and Annick.

"I see that you already got a taste for the Silverleaf jewelry." Annick said to Alex, pointing to the rose pendant she still wore.

"It is absolutely magnificent Mrs Silverleaf." Alex replied. "I was quite surprised when Yannick gave me your package containing it." she added.

Annick smiled gently. "Thank you child but I think you are mistaken on who sent it to you. It was not me." she told her.

Alex was left a bit speechless by that. "But you are Yannick's grandmother... So, if you are not the one who sent it, then who did?" she asked, puzzled.

"I am afraid that this would be me." said a calm feminine voice behind them.

Yannick turned and smiled at the person who had appeared in the entrance of the living room. Silver eyes with long hairs of the same color that came down to her knees. Her skin tone, darker that the rest of the Silverleafs, contrasting with her simple silvery robe.

"Hello Gran." Yannick said.

"Good afternoon Yannick." she replied with a smile. She then walked towards Alex. "Do not feel embarrassed for making this mistake child. Everyone who is new to the Silverleaf family has done it when they first came here." she said, looking in turn at Yves, Izabelle and Sonia. "I am the one they refer to as 'Gran'. My name is Gwenaëlle Silverleaf" she added, extending her hand to Alex.


	11. Chapter 11

Here is the Eleventh chapter of this fic. I hope you are enjoying it so far and I ask that you please take the time to review it. It is always nice to see what people like (or do not like) in the story. :-)

**Chapter 11: Story**

Yannick watched Alex's reaction. She had a moment of hesitation, clearly not having expected Gran to be someone else than his paternal grandmother.

"I... I am... Alexandra Dewitt." she said, taking Gran's hand in hers.

"Well met Alexandra. I am very happy to see that you like the pendant I sent you." Gran said. "I particularly enjoyed making this one." she added

"You mean you actually made it?" Alex asked, looking amazed.

"Of course child," Gran replied. "I personally make every piece of jewelry I design. Is that so surprising?" she asked Alex.

"Well in a way. I never heard of a woman silversmith before, even in the Muggle world." Alex replied, taking the pendant in her hand. "The features of this one are so fine, the amber blends with the silver so seamlessly that I have a hard time to believe it was hand made."

Gran smiled, her eyes twinkling a bit. "Years of experience my dear," she told her. "I'll be delighted to show you more of my work if you want to," she added.

"I would love to," Alex replied, her eyes sparkling with interest.

"You would not be good a chess by any chance, young lady?" Dominic asked Alex.

"Uh.. no sir. I am afraid I am not," she replied.

"Nice try Dom," Yves countered, grabbing him by the arm, "But you will finish this game without getting help from anyone. And that includes you, Yannick," he added to his nephew.

"Me uncle?" Yannick said, feigning surprise, "I would not dream of it!"

The family settled back around the chess table. Yannick could see from the way the game was going that his father was in a bad position and that he would lose if he did not put Yves on the defensive. Not being to help his father without being seen by his uncle, the outcome was obvious and happened soon after. Yannick was then cornered by the twins, Sébastien and Matthieu who started to question him about Hogwarts. They were in their third year and wanted to know how different Hogwarts was from their own school. While he talked to them he saw that Alex was speaking with Laure, who was almost a year younger than him.

An hour passed and the conversations kept on going. Alex seemed to have lost a bit of her shyness and was now talking with Gran. She was talking while moving her hands in flowing motions. "Quidditch," he thought as he went towards them.

"So Yannick," Gran said as he reached them, "Seems like Alexandra is quite an adept of Quidditch."

"She's a beater in the Ravenclaw team." he replied. "Quite a good one if you ask me." he added.

Alex blushed a bit at the remark. "I'm okay, I guess." she said.

"Okay? Now there is an understatement!" he said. "You managed to hit the snitch with a bulger! Alex, you are more than okay! You were brilliant in that game!"

Alex blushed more at the remark.

"That does sound like accurate hitting Alexandra." Gran replied. "Is Ravenclaw doing well in the Hogwarts Quidditch league?"

"Well, we won our first match against Slytherin now. And Gryffindor won against Hufflepuff, so we are facing them next. We face Gryffindor at the end of May. It should be quite a match." she said.

"Well, I do hope that everything goes fine for your team this year." Gran told her. "Has anyone showed you around the manor yet?" Alex shook her head. "Well, I think that it is best that I show you around then. You will see that there is no part of this manor that I do not know about." she said, winking slightly at Yannick.

For the next hour, Alex got a grand tour of the Silverleaf manor. Yannick was amazed by the way Gran described the different parts of the manor. From the entrance hall to the small library, the training room where his uncle Yves taught him and his cousins to the greenhouses that his father had haunted sometime day and night when they lived in the manor, Gran described each in detail, giving sometime one or two funny events that had happened in the place. Yannick smiled when he saw what room Gran was keeping for last, her study, the room where she also designed and produced her works.

They entered the room and were greeted by the light of the sun that was coming through big windows. Different metallic objects were reflecting it, giving the room a very magical feeling. A big fireplace was on the left of the room and several armchairs were around it. In the middle of the room was a statue made of metal that stood on a marble pedestal. Yannick looked at Alex whose attention had been captured by it. The statue was not a big one, only thirty centimeters in height but it still was breathtaking. It represented a wizard, shown in an apparent motion for a spell holding a staff with both of his hands above his head. The staff was made of amber and had a light pulsating from the end that was pointing in front of the wizard. The rest of the statue was a mix of metals, mainly bronze, silver and gold. The words _Merlin Ambrosius_ were etched on a golden plate the was fixed on the smooth wooden base.

"This statue is amazing!" Alex said looking at Gran. "It looks so real."

"I am quite fond of this one too." Gran replied. "I must say I was quite happy when its owner gave it back to me."

"I wonder why that person would have done that." Alex said thoughtfully. "It is so nice."

"Many reasons actually. I think the main one was that he did not enjoy fame but mainly looked for peace and quiet, not that those times provided that."

Alex let out a small laugh. "Is that why you gave him a statue of Merlin?" she asked. "I have read that from the legends he was a bit of a similar character, never wanting the fame he deserved although he accomplished great deeds."

"I see you have studied your history well." Gran told her.

"Gran," Yannick said, laughing. "She is in the Ravenclaw house in Hogwarts. She always is buried in books." he added, evading the playful punch Alex threw at him.

Gran chuckled and sat down on one of comfortable armchairs by the fireplace.

"But you are right Alexandra." she said. "I gave him this statue because he exhibited these qualities. However, I can assure you he liked it a lot for he was Merlin himself." she added.

Alex's jaw dropped and she looked at Gran with round eyes. Yannick must have seen that her legs were giving away because he caught her and gently got her to sit on another armchair, before sitting on the third and last one himself.

"So you... wow..." she managed to say finally. "But... this can't be."

"Why is that, child?" Gran asked her.

"Well... Merlin's time was over 1500 years ago." Alex replied. "This would mean you are... well... that old... but..."

"But?"

"No one can live that long." Alex finished.

"No one human." Gran pointed out. "The lifespan of a Muggle is that of 70 or 80 years. Wizards age differently and some have been known to reach an age nearing two centuries."

"But you don't look... old." Alex said.

Gran smiled gently. "Thank you. This is alway a nice thing to hear." she said. "I do think however, that it is better if I tell you my story and of course the one of the Silverleafs. I am sure it will clear up a lot of questions you have. But lets first get a bit more comfortable."

Gran waved her hand through the air and a small round table appeared at the center of the triangle they formed with their seats. On it was refreshments and pastries. Yannick stood up and served Gran an Alex, before taking some tea and a few pastries himself.

"Now, where do I start?" Gran asked herself out loud. "You were right when you said that I could not be human Alexandra, for I am not. The people I descend from were not from Earth originally. They called themselves the 'Children of Light'. There is not exact knowledge as to where they came from exactly but it was known that they were beings that were quite powerful. They could talk through thought, could change shape, could shape things around them and most important, were immortal. This last power was at the same time a gift and a curse. Their planet could only sustain a certain amount of them and once the limit was reached, problems started to arise. They did not age or die and so their numbers did not diminish. This caused them to stop having children. At some point they discovered that using their powers in groups they could shape ships and travel in them through space."

She paused and conjured a stone bowl of medium size that she put on the small table. A metal looking like quicksilver was in it. She kept hold of the bowl and closed her eyes in concentration. The liquid metal sprung up in the air a bit and changed into the form of an egg with several cracks in it.

"This is what our records say a ship could look like. Of course, with our ancestors being able to shape their surroundings, all ships were different. This one is believed to be the one that carried our ancestors to earth." she paused and looked at Alex. The young girl was looking fascinated by the metallic shape. "Early reports from other expeditions had seen Earth in the start of the Middle Ages and had seen a world where lore was high and magic was still accepted and somehow respected. The occupants of the ship decided to shape their vessel into a castle."

The metallic shape changed to that of a very elaborate castle.

"This would have encouraged knights to explore the it and thus permit our ancestors to make contact with the human race. To not frighten the humans, they also changed their looks to a more humanoid one."

Again the shape changed to that of a slender looking humanoid person.

"This was the plan... but it did not go as they wanted."

Gran sat back in her chair and the metal returned into the bowl.

"No one knows exactly what happened. What is known is that an accident occurred while the ship was landing and it had disastrous effects. The ship was propelled back through time and landed on a prehistoric Earth. Dazed by their landing the occupants came out and encountered prehistoric men. They tried to communicate with them but the humans, frightened by the appearance of the castle, reacted by attacking them. This is when our ancestors realized the extent of the damage. Not only were they in the wrong time, but their powers were almost non existent. Having relied on those powers for too long they were not able to defend themselves against the humans and many of them fell to their angry assault. The survivors fled to the woods nearby and hid as best they could."

Gran paused, took a sip from her drink and continued with her story.

"It took some time for the survivors to learn how to survive in their new environment. They learned to use their hands instead of their magic. But while berries and plants could sustain them a bit, they lacked the skills to hunt more substantial game. One of their number found out one day that some of her powers were returning slowly. After a lot of effort she managed to shape-change into a hawk and hunted small game. She found out that, while being somewhat repulsive, eating flesh from animals made it easier for her to use her power of shape-changing. She understood that to survive fully in this new planet, one had to be in harmony with its nature. From this discovery a long process of adaptation ensued. Their number slowly grew as new life came around and while still hiding from the humans, they started to learn to master the magic they were regaining."

Yannick looked at Alex. She was sitting in her seat looking captivated by the story Gran was telling. He had heard it several times already, but he would never be able to tell it like her.

"I will not bother you with the details of the long time that passed after the accident." Gran said with a smile. "What is important to know is that magic came back in our ancestors lives and while it was more powerful than human magic, it never came to the level they had before their crash on Earth. Also, not all were able to do powerful magic and so had to use their skills at other things, most notably archery and tracking. They kept hidden from humans and never really grew trustful of them, although there are exceptions. They continued to call themselves the 'Children of Light' and humans referred to in two ways, Demons at first but then, Elves, as humans became more civilized."

Comprehension dawned on Alex's face. "So you are an Elf. But you look so human." she said.

Gran let out a chuckle. "The first tenets of Elves was to not interfere with the human world and we kept hidden from them for a long time. While Muggle and Wizard mythology refers to my ancestors many times, there was never a real accurate description of how an Elf looked like."

"So... you were one of the Elves who landed on Earth?" Alex asked.

"Child, you flatter me." Gran said with a laugh. "I maybe old but I am not that ancient. I will however be unable to tell you exactly how old I am as I have stopped counting an long time ago. Elves never kept track of the years. Being immortals, it was not important to them. What I know is that the calendar changed twice in the Muggle world during my time."

"But how come there are no Elves around anymore?" Alex asked. "In all this time since they arrived on Earth there must have been a lot of new life, no?"

"This is a whole story in itself." Gran replied. "While the tenet of not interfering with humans was kept in full force for a long time, we were becoming too numerous and staying hidden from the humans was becoming very hard. A big amount of our people decided to sail out to the Atlantic Ocean, where some had had a vision of an untouched land, apart from the humans. They found that land and settled there. As there were no humans on that land, they grew quickly and formed an Elven Kingdom. The Elven Kingdom of Atlan'te'Heen."

"Atlantis" Alex muttered.

"No child. It was not Atlantis." Gran said. "That city was formed by a group of wizards who had been fleeing the still primitive Muggle's intolerance to magic. They too went on the Atlantic Ocean and found the Elven Kingdom. The Elven council of the time was quite impressed by the power that flowed from these refugees and they granted them an island just off the continent of the Elven Kingdom. The wizards named the place Atlantis, to show in a way their appreciation of the friendship of the Elves."

"Wow... but... if Atlantis disappeared. What happened to the Elven Kingdom?"

"Well before the fall of Atlantis, the Elves of Atlan'te'Heen sent out search parties around the world to find again the lost Palace, the mother-ship that had brought our ancestors to Earth. After some years of search it was found, incredibly intact after all the years. Atlan'te'Heen magicians came to try to uncover its secrets and after some time they managed to make it fly and brought it back to the Atlan'te'Heen Kingdom. This was a great moment for all our people. After years of hardship, they had a possibility to leave this planet and go back to the native land of our ancestors. This was a dream come true for many." she added before pausing.

"But not all?" Alex asked.

"No." Gran replied. "As you might have guessed already, not all of my people shared the longing of finding our ancestors planet. Our birthright might have been the stars but a few of us had learned to call Earth our home and so decided to stay behind. The Atlan'te'Heens toured the different settlements of Elves around the world, there were not many, and took with them anyone who wanted to come. When they departed, only a few hundred Elves remained in the world. They have lived ever since in harmony with Earth but always staying apart from Muggles and Wizards alike."

"So how did you meet Merlin, if the remaining Elves kept hidden from humans?" Alex asked.

"Merlin... was an exception, you might say." Gran said smiling. "If there was ever a more powerful and also companionate Wizard, it was him. While we were keeping apart from humans it did not stop him to come and seek our help. He was already a very wise Wizard at the time and he was the advisor of the legendary King Arthur. He had seen that dark powers were arising, the same ones that had destroyed Atlantis. He was the son of Taliesin, an Atlantean prince and so knew what had happened to the doomed Wizard Kingdom. To counter this dark threat he was rallying both the Muggle and the Wizard world together in two brotherhoods to aid Arthur against it. One of them was the legendary Knights of the Round Table. They served Arthur and were the protectors of the Muggles. The second was known as the Brotherhood of the Unicorn. It was a very secret one and it rallied many Wizards and other magical beings from all across the European continent. Many Elves joined their ranks, me included. By doing this we were engaging ourselves for the first time in our peaceful history in full fledged war."

Yannick winced internally to hear Gran say this. He knew there was little that saddened her in life but this event was one of them.

"This war was known as the War of the Unicorn." she continued. "It was long and hard fought. In the end, Merlin's forces prevailed against the dark threat but at a very high cost on both sides. At the end of this war Arthur recalled his Knights to Camelot and the Wizards of the Brotherhood returned to their normal lives. Magic in the world mad a huge step back due to the losses. The peaceful man that was Merlin, was broken by the events and retired himself from Arthur's court, settling himself in Britanny, in the forest of Brocéliante, the forest of his birth. Many Elves followed him there and helped him to create the powerful magic that protects the forests. There I learned to refine my gift with metals and I made this statue which I gave him. Many years passed and Merlin one day left Brocéliante. Camelot had been destroyed and Arthur had died in battle against his traitorous son, Mordred. This event finished to break Merlin and he left, not saying where he was going."

"After this, the of forest Brocéliante continued to be a learning place for all Wizards and many years passed. The Muggle world changed but the forest stayed the same. One day a rider came to the forest. It was a young English knight, serving the king of England of the time, Richard the Lionheart and, as we later found out, he was a direct descendant from a Knight of the Round Table of the time of Arthur. His name was Aidan Silverleaf. He was puzzled by strange things that seemed to occur with him, things that he could not control and had been told to seek help in the forest of Brocéliante. When the phenomenon was looked into it was found that he had the Magical Gift. He stayed in the forest to learn how to master his gift and become a Wizard. I got to know him and we became close friends, helping each other when it was needed."

Yannick saw Alex look at him and smile slightly. He felt himself blushing and smiled back.

"I was amazed by what I discovered in Aidan." Gran continued. "While a Muggle born Wizard he became quite adept in magic. He was always ready to lend a hand to someone in need and was genuinely interested in life and the forest. He also gained the respect of the Elves by being the first human Wizard to befriend a wolf and proved to be an excellent archer. His bravery also saved the lives of several Elves and Wizards at different times. After some time our friendship turned to love and we were married, both in the Elven rites and the Wizard ones. From our union were born the first full Wizards of the Silverleaf family. The Elven blood they had gave them better perceptions than humans and some have been known to be able to master both Elven and human magic. Aidan chose to remain in Brocéliante after our union and Silverleaf manor was built in a remote part of the forest. He lived long, almost two centuries, and while his body died and is no more than dust now, his spirit is still with us."

Gran leaned forward and placed her now empty cup on the small table.

"Well Alexandra," she said. "You now know the story of the Silverleaf family and my origins. I hope you enjoyed it."

Alex looked at Gran with a smile. "It was absolutely fascinating Mrs Silverleaf," she said earnestly, "I had kind of figured that Yannick's family would have a surprising history but I was not prepared for this."

"Oh I am sure that you weren't," Gran replied, "Not many persons know that Elves actually existed in this world. Most Muggle refer them as myths and Wizards tend to do the same thing."

A soft knock was hear on the door of the room.

"Come in Alwena," Gran said.

The door opened and the small girl entered. "Mother asked me to let you know that the dinner is ready and will be served in a few minutes, Gran."

"Thank you my dear," Gran told her, "You can tell her that we will be there very soon."

The little girl smiled and left again. Gran turned to look at Alex.

"I do believe that you will stay with us for the night?" she asked her.

"Well, I really do not want to impose myself..." Alex started.

"Impose yourself?" Gran said standing up and walking to her, "My dear child, know that you will be always welcome in this house. You have shown appreciation for my work that I have not seen from anyone for a long time," she said, causing Yannick to frown at that, "Apart from the family of course, Yannick," she added with a smile.

Alex stood up as well. "Thank you very much Mrs Silverleaf."

"You are very welcome Alexandra," Gran said, "You still have one question, don't you?" Gran asked with a knowing smile.

Alex looked surprised. "Well... yes, just one," she said, "I know for sure that Silverleaf manor is in France and when I met the different members of the family, all of them had French names. What surprises me is that all of them speak a very good English, even the young Alwena. How can that be?"

Yannick and Gran both smiled at the pointed question.

"This is due to a very strong Elven charm that was placed on the manor and its surroundings," Gran said, "It permits anyone to speak to another person, using his native tongue and the other will hear him in his own native tongue."

"So you mean that when I speak in English, you hear me in French?" Alex asked, astonished.

"The ones who understand English will hear you in English," Yannick said, "Others will hear you in French, like Alwena."

"Wow! I never heard of a charm like that before. How many languages can it do?"

"This charm has been in place for a very long time now," Gran said, "Almost as soon as the manor was built. I have been adding new languages every now and then and I think it is safe to say it understands an can translate any civilized ones. This young man here has been hard at work to find one that I missed," she added, pointing to Yannick.

"Hey!" he countered, "I actually found one."

"My dear Nick," Gran replied, "I do not think that Trolls really qualify as civilized." she added laughing and ruffling his hair. "Anyway," she continued, "best is to not keep the rest of the family waiting to start the dinner. Why don't you two young ones help an old lady getting downstairs," she added taking each by the arm.

The trio left the room and headed down to the manor's dining hall.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Chapter 12 of this fic. I am starting to wonder if I will bother to post the sequel when this one is finished, taking into account that this story does not seem to have a lot of readers or review. I'd really appreciate if the people reading this fic would take time to review it...

**Chapter 12: Snow**

Alex woke up the next morning with the rising sun shining through her window. She was at first startled by the unfamiliar environment she was in, but then remembered the events of the past day and the fact that she had stayed to sleep at Silverleaf manor. She let her gaze wander about the room, taking note of things she had not seen when she had gone to bed the night before. As she was trying to make out the pattern of the silver threads that were on the forest green drapes of the four poster bed she was sleeping in, she felt a weight shifting on her stomach. Looking at what could have caused that, her eyes met with those of a young ginger cat that was curled up on her.

"Well hello you," she said smiling and reaching to scratch the cat under its jaw. The cat closed its eyes and started to purr, clearly enjoying the feeling.

She got out of bed and put on a dressing gown. Then scooping the cat in in her arms she started looking around the room. A set of pictures caught her attention on a wall. They showed different persons. She recognized Yannick's parents at their wedding, a family photo of the Silverleafs with several persons she had not met. There was also a photo of the cousins having a very contested snowball fight. She recognized Yannick in his early teens receiving a face-full of snow from a young Alwena. The twins were apparently backing up their sister, Laure, against some other kids Alex did not know. There were several other persons in the picture which got her to assume that the Silverleaf family was bigger than the ones she had met the night before.

A photo of a couple caught her attention. After looking at it for some time she recognized Yannick's aunt, Rozenn and her husband Yves. There was also a young boy in the picture of perhaps six or seven years old. What struck her was that she could not see him in any other pictures, just this one.

"Strange," she thought, "You don't happen to know who that is, do you?" she asked the cat in her arms. It looked at her and then rubbed its head on her chest, purring. "I guess not," she added to its reply.

She moved on to the window to have a look of the lands around the manor. Her view from the second floor gave onto a forest white with snow and the sun still low on the horizon. Its light was causing the snow on the trees to sparkle and gave the forest a very enchanting feeling.

"I wonder if anyone is up yet?" she thought. Her silent question was answered by a young laugh and the sound of running in the corridor. "I guess Alwena is up," she had talked to the small girl after the dinner and found her full of life and also always ready to have fun. After her conversation she had decided that the nick name of 'little devil' fit her well. Alwena was never far from Yannick, and Alex had been able to see him under a new light while his cousin was around him. The normally closed up boy had almost vanished and the way she had seen them interact showed that he considered his little cousin as someone very close. She had not seen this type of behavior with his other cousins. He seemed more at ease, like if the events of the past days and his period of unconsciousness had triggered something. He had not told her of his experience and she had not asked. It would be his decision to tell her if he wanted, but she could not suppress the feeling that something important had happened during that time.

"He is changing," she thought, "And I would say it is a good change." A soft knock at her door brought her back from her thoughts. "Come in," she said.

The door opened and Rozenn Silverleaf entered the room. "Good morning Alexandra. I hope I am not disturbing you?" she said.

"Not at all." Alex replied. "I am awake since a little bit now. I was just looking around."

"Oh good, I was not sure if you were up yet." Rozenn said. "I was looking for Cassandre." she added.

"Who?" Alex asked.

"The little one that is in your arms right now." Rozenn said, smiling. "She's Alwena's cat and we could not find her this morning."

"Oh, I see. I found her on my bed when I woke up. I don't know how she got in though."

"She tends to do that. Even if a door is closed she will manage to get in to sleep on the bed she wants."

"Clever little one, then." Alex said, scratching the cat under its jaw. "Is it so late already?" she asked, suddenly noticing that Rozenn was dressed for the day.

"What? Oh no! Don't worry! I do not sleep much these days with this little on starting to move," she said, putting a hand on her belly, "Besides, Yves woke me up when he went out to train with Yannick," she added.

"Your husband trains with Yannick?" Alex asked her.

"More like he is training Yannick." Rozenn corrected, coming next to Alex by the window, "Yves is quite proficient in several ways of wand-less fighting. He has been the teacher of the young ones around here since he moved to Silverleaf manor. Today he wanted to make sure that Yannick was not too rusty from his stay in Hogwarts," she added

"I doubt that he is," Alex said. "He is apparently exercising every morning, either jogging or archery."

"Every morning, huh?" Rozenn said, "Spying on him?" she asked with a smile.

"Well I..." Alex started, blushing a bit, "We can actually see him from the Ravenclaw tower."

"Aha... And does he know?" Rozenn asked.

Alex was a bit taken aback by the directness of Yannick's Aunt. She knew where the conversation was heading. Her only problem is that she was not fully certain of her feelings for Yannick. He was a nice boy and quite handsome too, even though he tried his best to hide it. She had been surprised and touched by the way he had confided to her his loss of Gwendall. Even if it had happened so long ago she could see that he had never come to terms on it. From that day their friendship grew but she knew that he was still uneasy and holding back, hiding. She was not sure if she could actually say that she liked him more than a friend, a good friend. A close friend? More? Maybe it was too soon to say.

"Yes, he does," she answered, "I told him when we went to the Yule Ball of Hogwarts together a few days ago," she added, feeling herself blushing a bit more.

"Yannick went to a ball with a girl?" Rozenn asked looking surprised, "Did he ask you or did you ask him?" she inquired.

"It was him. He asked me out," Alex answered.

"Well! That is definitely a surprise!" Rozenn said. Alex looked at her puzzled, "Oh no. Don't get me wrong. Not a surprise that he went with you. He would never have heard the end of it if I had found out he had not gone to the ball with a sweet girl like you."

Alex blushed once more at the compliment.

"What I meant to say is that it is the first time that Yannick does this," Rozenn said.

"Oh..." Alex said, "Is it... because of what happened to the young Gwendall?" she asked, silently cursing herself for asking such sensitive question.

Rozenn's face darkened a little. "Yes," she said, "I guess he told you what happened, if you know her name?" she asked.

Alex nodded. "This event changed Yannick. In a big way," Rozenn told her, "He had always been a very cheerful child, making friends easily, helping out anytime he felt it was needed. A very nice nephew to have around. Him and Gwendall were very close. Her... death had a terrible effect on him. He suddenly closed up. He changed. He was not carefree anymore, he always seemed to be careful of what he did or what he showed. He never complained though and acted as if nothing was wrong with him, but he stopped going out to play with his friends, he stayed in the manor a lot. Yves saw what was happening and started his training with Muggle fighting arts. In his years in Morbihan's School for Wizardry, I never heard of him getting close to any girl."

Alex listened silently to Rozenn. What she told her confirmed what she had been assuming. The behavior of Yannick was because of his loss of Gwen. She had managed to loosen him a bit by making him talk about it but she had still felt he was unsure, still holding back and hiding.

"In a way, I must say I am glad that he got transferred to Hogwarts." Rozenn continued.

"Why do you say that?" Alex asked, "Isn't it hard for him to be kind of cut off from his family?"

"His parents, Dominic and Izabelle, had been called to England due to the recent events there," Rozenn said, "It was first planned that Yannick would stay at Silverleaf manor to continue his studies at school but Gran decided against it. I did not understand why at first but when I saw Yannick again yesterday, I did. It was not the way he acted with Alwena, they are always like that. What showed me that he had changed was that he was joking around, was smiling and looked very relaxed."

"It is recent though," Alex said, "He was not like this a few days ago."

"I figured as much," Rozenn replied, "Izabelle told me of the incident and that he went through a lot while he was unconscious. She also told me that your presence had been key to his recovery."

"Really?" Alex asked, "I just felt I could not leave him there and his mother had not arrived yet."

"And we are very grateful for that," Rozenn said, "Izabelle also told me that you did not want to leave him until he had recovered," she added with a smile.

Alex felt herself blushing once more. Rozenn was very direct. It is true she had refused to leave Yannick's side that day and she somehow could not really explain why. It just had not felt right. Rozenn saw her discomfort.

"I will not ask you more personal questions about your feelings for Yannick," she said, placing a hand on Alex shoulder, "Just know that I am very grateful of the influence you have on him. Also know another thing, Altair and Yannick share a very deep bond. While Altair is friendly to those friendly with Yannick, he will refuse anyone to touch Yannick should he get injured, apart from Gran and Yannick's parents. That he let you approach and take care of Yannick that day means more than you realize."

Alex looked at Rozenn. "You think I should talk to Yannick about our friendship?" she asked.

"I am not trying to push on anything Alexandra," Rozenn said, smiling reassuringly. "This would not make it your own decision. Talk to him when you are certain of your feelings," she added.

"I will. Thank you, Mrs Silver..." Alex started.

"Please, Rozenn," Rozenn gently cut her.

"...Rozenn. I'll have to get use to it," she finished.

"Oh, you will. You'll see," Rozenn answered, "You might want to take a look outside though," She added, nodding in direction of the window.

Alex looked and saw that Yannick and his Uncle were coming out of the forest, apparently fighting each other with what looked like long wooden swords. Yannick clearly had the underhand and was retreating from Yves. He was fending off the attacks his uncle threw at him and was moving towards the manor. He stopped midway and stood his ground, this time retaliating as well. "Yannick is not doing too bad," she commented.

"No, not too bad at all," Rozenn agreed, "Yves seems to have been pushing him to the limit too."

The Yannick and Yves were now turning around each other, sending blows and blocking. The once immaculate coat of snow on the ground was now full of their footprints. Alex suddenly saw Yves apparently saying something and making a motion towards the manor. Yannick cast a quick look towards it and apparently noticed them, looking surprised.

"He is distracting you Yannick!" Alex muttered.

That was exactly what Yves was doing. As soon as Yannick had looked, he attacked and landed a blow on Yannick's right arm. Then, keeping on pushing that same blow, he sent his nephew tumbling in the snow.

"That was a low blow." Alex said.

Rozenn let out a laugh. "Try telling Yves that," she said.

"But... What is he doing now?" Alex suddenly said, fear starting to show.

Yves had not waited for Yannick to get up. His nephew was still on the ground but he still went on to attack again, even thought Yannick was not facing him. Alex suddenly felt the need to open the window and warn him but she felt Rozenn's hand gently preventing her to do so. She let out a worried moan as she saw Yves' wooden sword descend towards Yannick's back.

What followed was not what she had expected. She saw Yannick's head snap up, apparently realizing something and then swinging his sword behind him to stop Yves' blow from reaching its mark, mere centimeters from his back. Yves was caught by surprise by this block and could not prevent Yannick from making him fall in the snow by a sudden sweep with his legs. At that moment Alex heard the voice of two boys. They were talking excitedly, passing in the corridor. "Sébastien and Matthieu?" she though. She saw Rozenn smile.

"You like exercising before breakfast?" Yannick's Aunt asked her.

"I don't really mind," she answered.

"Then I suggest you get dressed in warm clothes," Rozenn said, "I can predict a big snowball fight in the making," she added with a sly smile.

"This is not going good" Yannick thought, as he parried barely in time yet another thrust from his uncle. He had set out in the morning for a run in the forest and had been joined midway by his uncle Yves. They had jogged for a while until Yves decided to test out his skills at the sword. Now, fifteen minutes after they had started, Yannick was finding himself hard pressed to repel his uncle's attacks. This should normally not have been too hard but he was finding it hard to concentrate. Something was bothering him. A strange feeling, not new, but he could not pinpoint it. It seemed to be all around him.

"You are too dispersed, Yannick." his Uncle told him while easily parrying Yannick's counterattack. "You need to focus on the task at hand." he added, sidestepping on his left and attacking again.

Yannick parried and started to retreat towards the edge of the forest. Somehow, his discomfort was present since he had entered it. Maybe going out of the forest would get rid of it. "Strange though. I have never been that uncomfortable in the forest before."

"I guess the task at hand right now is to not get hit by you, Uncle" he said, while fending off two consecutive hits. "Why the hard gradient though?" he asked

"I just want to make sure you are not rusty." his uncle answered while attacking again, this time from the right. "I also want to be sure that you can defend yourself without a wand, now that yours is broken." he added.

"Well it is only temporarily." Yannick said. "I just will have get another one at Ollivanders before going back to Hogwarts."

"Do not be too confident Nick. From what Rozenn told me, it is very hard for a Silverleaf to find a wand that fits. Something about the Elven heritage."

"Yeah... I heard that one too. Apparently Elves do not require wands to perform magic." Yannick said. "You suppose I could be able to do wand-less magic then?" he asked his Uncle, while retreating again.

"I am the wrong person to ask kid. I am a Muggle, remember?" Yves answered, following him and trying to get his guard down with a feint.

"Sorry, I tend to forget that." Yannick said, blocking the feint and retaliating.

"Don't be. That you forget that point actually shows that I am part of the family and do not stand out by my difference." Yves replied, sidestepping to evade his attack.

"I don't think Rozenn would care if you did stand out, Uncle." Yannick replied. "And Alwena has already shown that she has the magical gift." he was continuing to retreat and was almost out of the forest by now.

"I don't really see what that has to do with anything." Yves replied, sending three quick thrust un Yannick's direction. "She must have gotten that from Rozenn."

"Maybe." Yannick replied, parrying the thrusts and attacking back. "But, you are from a Muggle branch of the Silverleafs, of the brother of Aidan, right?" They were now out of the forest and moving towards the manor. Yannick felt his head clear and he started having an easier time blocking his Uncle's attacks.

"That's right." Yves said. "But the Gorion Silverleaf line has never shown any magical ability." he replied, attacking once more.

"That does not mean that the gift is not there and that it is just dormant, waiting for the right time to awaken." Yannick replied with a smile. He stopped a the center of the clearing and started turning around Yves, attacking more, now that the strange feeling had disappeared.

"Well, well, well. Look who suddenly can analyze something while fighting at the same time" Yves smiling and fending the Yannick's attacks. "You don't suppose that this is due to you talking to the young lady who is watching us from her window, no?" he asked motioning towards the manor that was behind him.

"Huh?" Yannick said, looking towards the manor. He saw Alex and Rozenn looking at them from a window of the second floor. "MISTAKE!!!!" an internal voice screamed at him when he realized what his Uncle's true intent was... to divert his attention. He saw him attacking and before he could defend it, he felt a blow landing on his right arm, destabilizing him at the same time. His uncle did not let the pressure down and with the motion, sent Yannick tumbling in the fresh snow.

Yannick landed face first in it, disoriented and groping around for his wooden sword. He was still cursing himself for having been caught like a beginner when something caught his attention. The feeling was back, but this time he could pinpoint it... in two places. One was where his wooden sword was, by his right hand. The other was behind him and it felt like it was closing in. Yannick reacted automatically. He grabbed his sword and swung it behind him. While he was turning to face whatever was behind him he felt the a blow on his sword. He looked and saw that he had stopped a blow from his Uncle that had been aimed right at his back. Yves was looking at him, surprised. Yannick took advantage of this to sweep his Uncle's feet from the ground and make him fall as well in the snow. They stared at each other, both as surprised as the other.

"Well... I'd say you are not rusty at all." Yves said, recovering and starting to get up. "Now, how about we go in and get some..." he started to add. His sentence was cut short by a snowball hitting him squarely in the back of the head.

"Alright..." he said turning around. "Who did this?"

"Someone with a death wish maybe?" Yannick added, trying to suppress a laugh.

A few meter away from them stood the twins. They both had a large grin on their faces.

"Which of you two was responsible for this?" Yves asked. "So I know who gets to eat snow first." he added, making a snowball. The twins looked at each other.

"It was Matthieu." the one on the left said.

"So it was you then," the other one replied. "Because I am Sébastien."

"No you're not!" his twin countered. "I am Sébastien. Don't try to blame it on me now."

"If you are Sébastien," the other started. "Then why is there written Matthieu on your scarf?"

"Because you took mine this morning. You have got Matthieu on your hat."

"Yeah, because you took my hat. Your gloves are green, and Matthieu has green gloves while I always have blue ones."

"Honestly," Yves said to Yannick. "How do their parent put up with them?"

"I don't know, Uncle." Yannick said. "But I do remember that Matthieu got a scratch on his left cheek from Cassandre yesterday night." he added with a sly smile.

The twin on the right put a hand to his cheek and encountered little bits of dried blood from the scratch of the night before.

"Oooops!" he said before receiving Yves' snowball right in the face.

"Busted." Yannick said and threw his own snowball in Sébastien's direction.

"Hey! I did not do anything!" Matthieu's twin complained.

"Of course you did not, Sébastien." Yannick replied sarcastically. "We all know that you are such an angel."

"I'll make you eat back that comment Nick." Sébastien said, gathering some snow.

"Oh yeah? You and what army?" Yannick asked sending another snowball to him.

"He'll have my help as soon as I get rid of Uncle Yves!" Matthieu shouted, while running away from Yves who was after him, both hands full of snow.

"You'll eat snow first, kiddo!" Yves said.

"But it was not me in the fi..." Matthieu started, before a snowball hit him square in the face. He looked at who had thrown it and saw his big sister, Laure, smiling slyly at him while gathering some more snow. "Traitor," he said.

"Depends on the way you look at it." she said.

"Snow fight!!" Alwena shouted, emerging from the manor's veranda door.

"Lookout everyone!" Yannick said. "Little devil entering the fray." he added before dodging the snowball Sébastien had thrown his way. "Missed me!"

"Dodge this one then!" Alwena said, before sending another one towards him.

Alex was looking at the scene, hovering a few meters away from the fray and not sure which side to take exactly. Matthieu saw her there and threw a snowball at her. She took out her wand and with a swift flick, sent the snowball straight back at him.

"Hey! No magic allowed!" he complained.

"Oh?" she told him. "And who just used his wand to build a snow wall?"

"Busted again, Matthieu!" Yannick shout from behind his own wall.

"Eat this, Nick!" Matthieu shouted back, magicking a snowball towards Yannick's spot.

"Alright kids!" Dominic shouted. "Let the professionals show you how to win a snowball fight." he added as he, Izabelle, Gael, Sonia and Gabriel were building a small snow fort using their wands.

Alex, Laure and Alwena took refuge behind Yannick's wall, while the twins decided to strengthen theirs by adding some more snow on it. Yves looked at his options and decided to rally the small fort. The fight became grownups against youngsters and started again with renewed vigor. Just out of the veranda, Gran, and Annick were looking at the scene, looking highly amused.

"It is a pleasure to see everyone enjoying themselves." Gran said.

"Who do you think will win this one?" Annick asked. "Last time, Dominic's team won by collapsing the the other's defending wall."

"We will see." Gran said.

"We will have to end it at one point though," Rozenn said, joining them and bringing a tray with hot chocolate. "Else our breakfast is bound to become a brunch... again." she added with a false sigh.

Annick laughed. "I don't really remember a time it has not when a snowball fight was ongoing," she said.

"But mother," Rozenn said. "Isn't father a bit too old to be playing along?" she added, looking at Gabriel Silverleaf magicking a set of four snowballs in the direction of the twins while dodging another that had been sent his way by Laure.

"Gabriel? Hardly!" Annick scoffed. "You will be a grandmother before you see him back down from having fun, my dear. Besides, five against six was barely even odds, he had to help out." she added.

"Maybe you should join them to as well, Annick." Gran said.

"Oh no! I am too old for this." Annick said defensively. "Besides... it is much more fun to watch it from here." she added with a smile.

The battle raged on with each side trying to overwhelm the other in snow. The twins combined their spell to send a snowball the size of a medicine ball to crash into the fort's wall, causing a part of it to crumble. The retaliation came in the form of a dozen of snowballs flying towards them and hitting them despite their attempts to dodge.

"Victory is ours!!" Dominic chanted from his vantage point. A snowball hit him on the chest. "Who dares!?" he added, looking in the direction where the shot had come from.

"Oooops!" Yannick said. "Sorry dad, too tempting." he added with a grin.

"Ingrate child!" Dominic said, throwing a snowball at him.

"Hey, Dom!" Yves said from behind the wall. "You raised him."

Dominic threw a dark look at Yves and sent his next snowball towards him, hitting his brother-in-law in the face. "Oh... Sorry! My hand slipped." he said.

"Traitor!" Yves shouted.

Dominic was hit by three snowballs from his own team and he fell in front of his fort.

"Fire at will!" Alwena said.

Dominic Silverleaf was for the next minutes hard at work to evade the flurry of snowballs that were thrown his way. Unsure that he would be able to go back into his fort, he made his way to the veranda, waving a small white flag that he appeared at the tip of his wand.

"Good morning Gran, Mother, Rozie." he said when he reached them. "Nothing better than a good snowball fight to start the day." he added, while grabbing one of the cookies on the tray Rozenn had brought out.

"Especially when almost all the family is involved in it." Annick said. "It is quite something to watch."

"Yes," Rozenn said. "But it is getting too late for the breakfast now." she added.

"I think it is time to eat." Gran decided. She stood up from her seat and drew her wand. She muttered and incantation and a bright silver flare went to explode above the snowball fight, catching the attention of all.

"The brunch is served." she said when she saw that she had their attention. "Last one in the house, helps the House-Elves to do the dishes." she added. She had a satisfied smile when she saw all the contestants sprinting to be first to reach the veranda.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Change**

Yannick was going up the main stairs of the manor. The day was coming to an end and it had been quite enjoyable. The snowball fight of the morning had been great fun and a great way to start the day. He had then set out again in the forest, this time with Alex and Altair, who had just been picked up by his father after the Brunch. He showed her all he could of the place he called a second home, but he steered clear of the area where Gwen had been found years ago. Even if he had now learned part of the truth, he did not feel ready to go there. They had then returned to the manor, where more relatives had arrived. More presentations, more talk, more fun. Alex had left back to London after dinner and they had agreed to meet up in Diagon Alley before the Hogwarts Express was due to leave. "This is just as well." Yannick thought. "I will then be able to drop by Ollivanders and see how my wand can be fixed."

He arrived in front of the door of Gran's study. She had told him to pass by to see her before going to bed. He hesitated as he lifted his hand to knock on the door and looked down to Altair.

"You want to come in too, don't you?" he asked him. Altair looked at him in a way that made him understand that the answer was obvious. Of course he wanted to come in with him. Yannick smiled and knocked at the door.

"Come in Yannick." Gran's voice said from inside.

He opened the door and went in the room. The sun had set since a few hours and the room was only lit by a roaring fire in the fireplace. While the room was darker than usual, the light of the fire gave it a cozy feeling. Gran was seated near the fireplace, reading a book. She looked up and smiled at him.

"If there is one thing I missed while you were at Hogwarts, Yannick. It is having you come around my study to talk." she said.

"I missed those too, Gran." Yannick said while walking towards her. Altair trotted and reached her first. He nuzzled her hand and started licking it.

"Yes, I am glad to see you too Altair, you know that." she laughed. "Has he left you at all since he arrived here?" she asked to Yannick.

"Not at all. He has behaved as if he was my shadow." he replied, bending down and kissing Gran on the cheek. "What are you reading?" he asked.

"Oh, a Muggle book. La légende des siècles () from Victor Hugo." she said. "It is quite refreshing to read some poetry and Victor had a lot of talent in writing." she added.

"You knew Victor Hugo?" Yannick asked.

"Yannick, do you think I spend all my time in this manor?" Gran replied. "I have explored the world as well and met many Muggles and Wizards in my life. Victor, while having had quite some hardship in life, was a very good writer who could sublty make his political opinion pass in his books. His novel 'Les Misérables' is quite an attack of the Muggle politics of the time. A very interesting fellow. Shame that he was not a Wizard." she added.

"You always manage to amaze me, Gran." Yannick said, smiling and sitting down in armchair near hers. Altair lay down between them, his back resting on Yannick's armchair.

"Thank you my dear." Gran said "You have questions you want to ask me." she added, putting her book on the small round table.

"Yes," Yannick answered. "I think you know the main one is." he added.

"About your wand?"

Yannick nodded.

"Yves was correct when he told you that Silverleafs from the Aidan line had a hard time to find a wand. This is because of the Elven blood that run in their veins. Elves hardly require the use of a wand to do magic."

"But you have one." Yannick pointed out.

"Yes, and I do use it from time to time. But you do not see me use it when I shape metal, do you?" she asked with a smile.

"Right. I never really paid attention to that."

"Show me your wand, Nick." she asked.

Yannick took his wand from one of his robe's pocket and gave it to her. Gran looked at it closely for some minutes an then looked back at him. "I do not think that you will need a new wand Nick. This one could be fixed." she told him, setting it on the table.

"Really?"

"Yes... Ollivanders might be able to, but..." she paused as if thinking. "Tell me. How do you feel since you accident? Any changes?" she asked him.

Yannick was taken aback by the change of subject. "Well... not really... I still feel the same... maybe... uuuh, no... this is a bit stupid." he said.

"Tell me." she said, gently.

"Well... it might seem crazy but... I felt really not at ease in the forest this morning." he said. "I was also able to stop a blow from behind from Yves. Like if I knew exactly where his sword would be." he added.

Gran was looking at him, a slight mile forming on her lips.

"There was another instance, the morning I woke up from the accident. I touched a plant that was on my bedside table and I had the feeling that it then looked in better shape." he finished.

"Did you by any chance also touch the mistletoe in the entrance hall?" she asked him.

"No, but I did look at it yesterday evening and thought it look messy," he started

"And now it is shaped as a ball, as if someone would have trimmed it during the night." she said. "And yet, there were not marks of any cuts on its branches."

"And this would be my doing?" he asked.

Gran smiled. "I do believe so, Nick. These occurrences and feelings are normal and are the hints that someone is a Treeshaper."

"A what?"

"A Treeshaper. A person who can feel plants, heal them, shape them and in a way, communicate with them." she explained. "It is quite a gift and normally only appearing with Elves." she added.

"But then, how can I be one? I am not an Elf?" he countered.

"You have Elven blood in you, Nick." she said. "And surprisingly, in stronger concentration than your father." she added.

"How can that be?"

"Izabelle," she answered. "Your mother is descended from an Elven line as well. Your great grand father was an Elf."

"I never knew that."

"Many do not know that, Nick." she said. "He was a very powerful healer and made very good use of his gift. Unfortunately, when the dark time of Grindelwald came, his gift became dangerous and sought for by the forces of darkness. Grindelwald captured him and tried to force him to work for him and heal his followers. When he refused, Grindelwald killed him, slowly. It is not a story that your mother likes to tell. It is also the reason why she is hiding her healing gift to most, at least until the dark time of Voldemort has passed."

"Oh... I can understand that." he said

"This is why I am quite sure that the gift of Treeshaping is in you. Your father has a knack to understand what a plant needs and your mother has the power to heal." Gran said. "Now... let me try something." she flicked her wand and a log came towards her from the woodpile near the fireplace. She set it on the table, after having taken away the book and Yannick's wand. "Put your hand on the log and tell me what you feel." she said.

Yannick reached out with his right hand and touched the log. "I don't feel anything." he said after a moment.

"Try harder. Look for something different," she told him. "A bit like some left over energy."

Yannick closed his eyes and tried to 'feel' the wood again. All he could sense was dryness and death. He was about to give up again when he suddenly felt a glimmer of energy, all the way at the center of the log. "There is some energy in the center of the log." he said, without opening his eyes.

"Good. Now see if you can influence it." Gran said.

Yannick at first did not really understand what to do, but remembering what Gran had told him about the mistletoe, he started to feel the thin energy line again. He almost jumped in surprise what he felt it suddenly grow a bit bigger after he had told it to grow. He continued and gradually got the energy to fill the entire log. He smiled, opened his eyes and let his jaw drop by what he saw.

The log was not anymore the dry piece of wood it had been. Several offshoots had sprouted from it and some even had leaves on them. Yannick could also see now an aura of gold around the log. "Wow." he said, looking at Gran.

"Very impressive, Nick." she told him. "Do you want to try on your wand?" she asked him.

"I don't know... I think it will be more delicate..." he said. "I am not really sure I can do it. Not without help." he added.

"I think I can help you out on that young Yannick." A deep voice said from behind Gran. A ghost appeared behind her armchair. It was an old man with a flowing beard and dressed in a wizard robe that looked out of the middle ages. The ghost stood behind Gran's armchair and touched her shoulder with his right hand.

"Hello Aidan," she said reaching to 'touch' his hand and looking at him with a loving smile. "It is good to see you again." she added.

"I am always around, you know that Gwenaëlle. I would not leave you for anything, even in death." he replied.

"I know Love, I know." Gran replied.

Yannick was looking at the scene and yet had a hard time believing what he was seeing. He had before him his direct ancestor, Aidan Silverleaf, the first wizard of his line. His mouth must have been open in awe because Aidan let out a little laugh.

"You can close your mouth, Yannick." he said. "Don't tell me you have never seen a ghost before."

"Well... true..." he said. "I have. But it is impressive to see your direct ancestor appear in a room when you don't expect it."

"Good point. I can definitely see Gwenaëlle's teaching there." Aidan said. "She always managed to win an argument with me. Even after I died." he added with a laugh.

"Have you always been around in the manor?" Yannick asked.

"Not always in the manor, no. I can move around as I please around the world." Aidan replied. "But, for around the past twenty years I have stayed in the manor and the forest."

"How come I have never seen you before then?" Yannick asked.

"Aidan is not a normal ghost, Nick." Gran said. "He should not have been able to stay as a ghost but before his death, he expressed his wish to stay and wait for me. With the help of a powerful Elven wizard he was able to stay and got a few benefits out of it too. He is not restrained to one area in the world, can have an effect on things at some times and also can decide to show himself to persons. If Alwena or any of your cousins were to come in this room right now, they would not see him."

"I have decided to show myself to you Yannick, because you show the signs of having the gift of Treeshaping." Aidan said. "This is a very rare gift in humans, I was the only one of my time. The union of myself and Gwenaëlle made it more possible for this gift to appear in our line but still, it has been over three hundred years since the last Silverleaf Treeshaper. You are the next and what you just did with this log proves it."

"I am not really sure how I did it, though." Yannick said.

"This is why I am coming to help you for your wand." Aidan replied with a smile. "I will not be able to teach you how to fully master your gift, but I am sure that I can give you some basics. I had to repair my own wand several times, you know." he added, winking at him.

Yannick smiled at that and reached for his wand. He placed his hands on it. He closed his eyes and set out to find the type of energy he had felt in the log before. He found some in different places of the wand. Cracks could be seen through it, the places the wood was broken.

"Do you see any broken energy?" he heard Aidan ask.

"Yes."

"Good. Reach out to it and get it to connect up." Aidan said. "Do that until the energy is in the shape of your wand."

Yannick did as Aidan told him. He reached out to the energy and got it to connect up one with another. After a few minutes of carefully doing this, he had the energy in the form of a wand, his wand.

"Done." he said.

"Not quite yet. You need to get the wood to mend its cracks." Aidan said. "You can will it but you might find it easier at first by using the incantation, _recrescere _(). Try it."

Yannick, his eyes still closed, felt the energy again and said the incantation. The energy seemed to glow brighter for a moment and then dimmed a bit. He opened his eyes. The wand was in his hands and looked like new. Smiling, he took it in his right hand and gave it a flick. Nothing happened.

"Strange." Aidan said. "Let me see." The ghost took the wand in one hand and inspected it closely for a minute. "It seems all fine here... Let me see... did that ever happen to me?" he thought aloud. "Oh, maybe this. What core do you have in your wand?"

"The talon of a hippogriff." he answered.

"Ah yes! Excellent for charm work." Aidan said. He gave him back his wand. "Try and see if you can locate the core in the wand and see if anything is out of the ordinary." he told him.

Yannick closed his eyes and felt the wand again. After some minutes he located a foreign object in the middle of the wand, shaped as a small talon. "I have it," he said. "It comes out dark though." he added.

"Try moving it around by shaping the wood around it. I think it is out of place." Aidan told him.

Yannick did this. The talon moved slowly around, pushed by the wood shaping itself around it. At one point, Yannick felt a little click in the energy of the wand and the part where the talon was started to glow a deep blue. "I think it is done." he said, opening his eyes and looking at Aidan.

"Well, give it a flick and we'll see." Aidan said, giving a quick glance to Gran, who was smiling.

Yannick took the wand in his hand again and felt a rush of energy going through him. He flicked his wand towards the fireplace. The fire suddenly burned more brilliantly and all the candles of the three chandeliers in the room lit, flooding the room in light. Yannick grinned and looked at Aidan and Gran.

"You already knew it would work this time, didn't you?" he asked them.

"Your wand emitted some silver sparks just before you said it was done." Gran replied. "This is usual of a wand that works."

"You show a lot of promises,Yannick" Aidan said. "I think you shall come quite easily in control of your gift if you keep practicing." he added.

"One question though, how come this gift only started to manifest now?" Yannick asked.

"Could be many reasons." Gran said. "Sometimes a special gift like this starts manifesting itself in one's childhood, like it did for my metal-shaping gift."

"My magical gift started manifesting itself after I was injured in a joust." Aidan added.

"Yours manifested itself after your accident, Yannick, like Aidan." Gran said. "It is a very precious one and you should practice with it so you become more adept in its use. After a while, its use will become second nature to you and you will be able to use it effortlessly."

"I think the green house is about to see more of me for the next few days." Yannick said with a smile. He put his wand back in his pocket. As he did this his eyes fell on a silvery object that was on the table. The crest he had found in Hogwarts.

Gran had followed his eyes. "This is the reason why I asked you to come to see me in the first place, Nick" she said. "You still want to know what it exactly is and how it came to Hogwarts?" she asked him.

Yannick nodded, feeling apprehensive of what the answer might be.

Gran sighed and dimmed the lights of the room with a wave of her hand. "I wish this crest never had appeared in the first place." she said. "What do you remember of the former Silverleaf crest?" she asked him.

"Not much. It looked similar to that one. You changed it to the current one some years ago, before I entered wizard school." he replied.

"Do you remember why?"

"No. I think it was because the design was old." he said.

"That was what I let believe to most." Gran said. "It is unfortunately not the first time the crest you found is seen and I fear it will not be the last. This crest is the reason I changed the design of our own." she paused and closed her eyes for a moment, as if choosing what to say next. "Your mother told me that you saw Gwendall when you were unconscious."

Yannick nodded.

"Can you tell us about it?" she asked, gently.

Yannick hesitated at first but then narrated his experience while he had been unconscious. He told them of his talk with Gwendall's ghost, her reasons for staying around, her showing him her murder. "Why was I never told? I had the right to know. Gwen was more than a friend to me." he asked Gran when he finished his story.

"Nick. I understand why you feel angry about only finding out the truth now. This was a decision that was taken by your parents, myself and Aidan." Gran told him.

"Without even telling me?" he asked.

"How do you tell a ten year old that his close friend and love has actually been murdered?" she replied. "Nick, for all we know, you could have been killed in her place."

"What?"

"Do you remember that you volunteered to go to get what she needed at her home?" she asked.

"So it should have been me." he said, suddenly realizing what it meant.

"That is what we believed. And it was not the first time that an attack was made on us." Aidan said.

Yannick looked at him, surprised.

"There was another before hers, against Pierrick Silverleaf." Aidan told him.

"The first born of Aunt Rozenn and Uncle Yves?" Yannick asked.

"Yes."

"He died a year after you were born in the fire of their old home." Gran said. "We all thought it was a tragic accident until this was found in the wreckage of their house." she pulled out a silver object and set it on the table. Another crest, similar to the one he had found. Yannick took the crests in his hands. They were exactly the same. Same metal. Same workmanship. He looked at Gran, the question in his eyes.

"Yes, the same crest was also found near Gwendall's body." she told him.

"So... you believe that..." he started.

"The murderer is back and that he is most probably in the surroundings of Hogwarts." she finished for him.

() La légende des sciècles (Legend of the Ages, in English), book by French author Victor Hugo published in 1857. It contains many poems from this author.

() This is a spell of my invention. It uses the Latin word 'recrescere', which means "to grow again". Fitting that a Treeshaper would use it on a plant, no?


	14. Chapter 14

a/n: Thanks a lot for your review BloodSoakedRose, you are right on me wanting to write an HP fic without being obsessed by HP himself. I leave Harry and his friends to JKR to write, that is her creation. ;-)

Here is chapter 14. Hope you enjoy it too.

**Chapter 14: Revelations**

Yannick was silent for a while, not wanting to believe what he was hearing.

"So this crest is this murderer's mark?" he finally asked.

"Yes." Gran replied.

"And the fact that it is found near Hogwarts can mean only one thing, Yannick" Aidan said. "You are most probably his next target."

"But... This is too crazy!" Yannick said. "Why would anyone wish to kill me? I never did anything wrong?"

Aidan sighed and looked at Gran. "Gwenaëlle," he said, "I think it is best that he learns the reason why."

Gran looked at Yannick. "Do you really want to know why?" she asked him.

"Gran, a person is around Hogwarts and is responsible for two deaths. And now I learn that I could be his next target. Yes, I do want to know," he said, "This way I can be prepared and know what I am to face." he added.

"Wise words Yannick," Gran replied, "Although I want you to know that you should be on your guards at all times. Pierrick and Gwen were not the only ones he killed and I fear that they will not be the last. This murderer is powerful and has never been caught, much less seen." she added.

"I have seen him Gran," Yannick said, "When Gwen showed me the way she had been killed, I saw him."

"What struck you the most in what you saw of him?" Gran asked.

"His hand. Slender and grayish." Yannick said. "Also his voice. He had an accent and spoke incantations in a language I heard before... I just cannot place it." he added.

"_Lle rangwa sina lammen?_"() Gran asked, sadly.

Yannick looked at her with wide eyes. "Yes. Of course!" he said. "It was Elven. No wonder it sounded familiar. The murderer is an Elf?" he asked, incredulous. "I thought all Elves worshiped life more than anything."

"No. He is not an Elf. He was born of Elven parents, that is true. But his acts have caused him to be cast off from our kind. He is a _Talant_, a Fallen or outcast and his name is Andrelith Jorelein." Gran answered. "He is old, older than me and is a very powerful dark wizard now." she added.

"Do you think he will go in league with Voldemort?" Yannick asked.

"No." Gran replied. "If there is one thing about Andrelith we can be sure of is that he will never join or aid Voldemort and his followers. He does not like humans and will never associate with them. It is partly due to his aversion for humans that he got banished from our race." she added.

Yannick looked at her, not really wanting to press on for more but in the same time being captivated by what was being revealed to him. Gran let her gaze wander in the flames of the fireplace for a moment and then went on with her story.

"Andrelith was born to Elven parents, a few centuries after the accident that brought our kind to Earth." she continued. "I was born afterwards and never knew him as a child. As an adult he was very studious, always trying to find new ways to harness the Elven gift of magic. The years passed on and he too decided to stay on Earth when the Atlan'te'Heens departed. He joined the side of the Brotherhood of Merlin and fought the forces of Darkness. Unfortunately he was captured by them in one of their attacks."

She drank some water from a cup and continued. "We all thought he was dead, but a few weeks after the defeat of the forces of Darkness and the end of the war, he reappeared." she said. "He was changed. Dark in thoughts and appearance and harboring a deep hatred to humans. I learned from him that he had been horribly tortured during his captivity. He started to retreat from others, shutting himself in books and refusing contact. This went on for some time, some centuries actually. We left him in peace and from what I can see... this was our mistake."

Yannick looked at Gran. Her face had lost some color and sadness had appeared on it. The memory was obviously painful for her. "Gran," he said. "You do not need to tell me this if it hurts you."

"No Yannick." she countered. "You are of an age to know and you must be told."

Altair rose from his lying spot and went over to her. He sat near her armchair and put his head on her lap, uttering a small whine and starting to lick her hands.

Gran gave the wolf a light smile and petted him gently. "Thank you for your concern Altair. I'll be alright, do not worry." she said. "I realized how bad he had become when I agreed to train Aidan in his Treeshaper gift. It was a great honor for him as there were very few humans who could boast having earned the trust of Elves. For Andrelith, what I had agreed to was blasphemy to our basic tenet of no meddling in human affairs."

"But Aidan was a Wizard." Yannick said. "Elves had helped Merlin, had they not?"

"Yes, this is true." Gran replied. "You see, I believe that this argument of Andrelith was just an excuse to get Aidan away. He saw him as a threat. Andrelith was always trying to find ways to have more power. While he used to only search for this in the magical arts before the war, he had apparently started to study and use the Dark Arts and also was trying to get power by influence. He had already seen the close friendship I had with Aidan and he saw this as a threat for his own plans." she added, 'stroking' the hand that Aidan had placed on her shoulder. "My father was an influential person in our small community. By marrying me, Andrelith thought he could gain more power. Unfortunately for him, my heart was already with Aidan and I rejected him quite roughly when he proposed to me. He saw that I had fallen for the 'puny human' that Aidan was and this infuriated him."

"In an attempt to shame myself and my family he publicly exposed my love for Aidan." Gran continued. "This also backfired on him and he found out that there were very few Elves who saw such union as wrong. My father confronted him harshly on this, saying that my life was my own to live and that he would approve my choice of Aidan if it was my choice. Andrelith's reaction to the confrontation surprised all, even his few supporters. He hit him with a Killing Curse. It was so unexpected that Father did not have even time to avoid it. He was dead before he reached the ground."

Gran paused, she wiped a forming tear from her eye with the back of her hand. Yannick saw that Aidan's ghost form had gone darker and that he had placed his other hand on her shoulder, trying the best to comfort her.

"I am so sorry Gran" Yannick said.

She smiled sadly at him. "Thank you Yannick but you have no reason to feel guilty for me being sad on this event. It was a long time ago but as you can see, it still saddens me to tell about it." she said. She stayed silent for a while, looking again into the flames of the fireplace and then continued with her story. "Andrelith had committed a very grave crime for an Elf. Man kills Man... that is their way. But Elves never killed Elves. He had committed the unthinkable out of jealousy and even worse, he refused to see any wrong at what he had done. For this heinous act he was banished from our kind forever."

Yannick winced at that statement. He knew how much Elves gave importance to their home and their kind. To be banished for an Elf was almost as much as a death sentence.

"After this event, Andrelith disappeared and was not heard of for a century. What he did during that time is not known. What we are sure of is that this time did not calm him for when he reappeared, his first act was an attack on the first born of our grand son, Jeremiah Silverleaf. He tried to kidnap him but did not succeed. Both Aidan and I were present in the manor when it happened and we stopped him. From this event we learned that Andrelith had declared a feud on the Silverleafs. From that time to now, he managed to kill five Silverleafs. His leaving of the perverted crest was a recent addition and my guess is that he does this to taunt us that we, in a way never managed to really stop him."

"Sweet Merlin!" Yannick whispered. "He is completely mad."

"Yes Yannick." Gran said. "And now he is giving us clues that he is around Hogwarts. Why he has not attacked you yet and is taunting us this way, I do not know. It could have something to do with the fact that Hogwarts is under the protection of Dumbledore, and even a powerful _Talant_ like Andrelith knows that many charms protect the castle from evil."

"So what should I do?" Yannick asked. "Stay in the castle at all times until we are sure that I am safe?"

"I will not try to prevent you to do what you desire Yannick." Gran replied. "Andrelith has not attacked you so far and you have been many times out of the castle and on the grounds and he has not tried anything, apart from leaving the crest. I would say that you are safe to be on the grounds and about."

Yannick did not say anything to that. The revelation of this enemy of the Silverleafs was a bit to much to digest. And now this same enemy was apparently going for him, or at least was taunting him. Was he the cause of the feeling that he had gotten during the Ravenclaw vs Slytherin match? He had seen a dark shape at the edge of the woods that had disappeared along with the feeling as soon as he had spotted it. That feeling had occurred twice more and each time he had seen the shape. What would happen if he would have to face him? Then what would he do? What could a boy of sixteen do against a powerful Elven Dark Wizard that was over two thousand years old? He let out a sigh of frustration and buried his face in his hands.

"I do not really see what I can do against such a wizard, should it come to that." Yannick said, looking at Gran.

"Very little, that is true." she said. "But you can still do something."

"What is that?"

"Well, first off, you can refuse to be put down by this news." she replied. "This is the main intention behind Andrelith's acts, to get us to cower and apologize for the 'wrong doing' to him we are responsible for. None of which are true, of course. Do not give in to this. Live your life in full, learn all you can and prosper."

"What if I need to face him? I doubt that a mere stunning spell would get rid of him." Yannick said.

Gran smiled and stood up. "True, that might be a bit weak." she said, while going to a bookshelf. "Now, where did I put this one? Ah... yes. Here it is." she took a small book and turned to face Yannick. "This book contains spells that will require you to bring your Elven up to level again in order to master them but mastering some of them could give you an edge against him should you come to face him." she said, giving him the book. "The last thing he will expect from a 'puny human' is to be hexed by an Elven spell." she added with a smile.

Yannick took the book in his hands and looked at it. The writing on the cover was Elven but it suddenly changed to French while he was looking at it.

"Very useful charm." Gran said. "The text changes to the language of the reader. The spells will stay in Elven on the other hand, so you will still need to be able to speak basic Elven."

"That should not be too much of a problem." Yannick replied. "I always liked that language. I will be fun to study it again. _Diola lle, arwenamin,_" he added in Elven.

"_Lle creoso, poikaer_,"() Gran replied with a smile. "I am glad that you did not forget it everything I taught you. Perhaps we can have an Elven conversation one of these days?" she added, giving him a wink.

"I'll need to refresh most of it before that. But I will be glad to when I can." Yannick said. "Can I take this book with me to Hogwarts?"

"Of course and I strongly urge you to." Gran said.

"Just make sure that you keep it safe, Yannick." Aidan added. "This book contain spells that would be dangerous for anyone without Elven blood to try to master."

"I will Sir." Yannick said.

"Oh please Yannick." Aidan said. "You do not need to sir me. Yes I am ancient and your ancestor but you can call me Aidan, like everyone does." he added.

"I am sorry. I will." Yannick replied. "Thank you again, Gran. I feel this conversation has helped me greatly." he added, standing up and embracing her.

"You are most welcome, my Nick." she said, returning the embrace. "Now go. It is getting late and I am sure that you want to be fresh for the celebration of the new year tomorrow." she added, kissing him on the cheek.

Yannick kissed her back and left the room together with Altair. Gran looked at him go, feeling a mixture of joy and sadness rise within her.

"Why do I always have the feeling we will never really be rid of this threat?" she asked Aidan, who had come next to her. "Each time I have the feeling I might again lose one of my dear ones suddenly, and this feeling frightens me. I am tired of losing loved ones." she added.

"I know love." Aidan said, running his hand on her cheek. "But I trust your judgment. You were right in revealing the threat to Yannick. He will only be more powerful when he will have to face it."

"But he is so young." Gran started.

"I was not very much older when I had to go in my first battle." Aidan countered. "Yannick is the first one to have the gift awaking in him so early in his life. I feel it will help him greatly and when he will have to face Andrelith, he will be able to do it."

"I hope you are right my love." Gran said looking into Aidan's eyes. "I hope you are right. Do you think I should warn Albus about the possibility of Andrelith making a move?"

"I think he has a lot on his mind right now with Voldemort's return and keeping Hogwarts safe." Aidan replied. "But it might be a good idea indeed."

Yannick was sitting in an armchair, in front of the fireplace in the living room of the manor. The rest of the family had now gone to bed but he was still up, reading avidly the book that Gran had given him. The revelation of Andrelith's existence and story had been a bit of a shock to him but it had not been that unexpected, since he had seen Gwendall's murder. What was frightening him more was the revelation that Andrelith had a feud ongoing against his family and that he was most probably the next target. Would he really need to face Andrelith? Somehow the idea of facing a millenia old Elven Wizard, and even worse one using the Dark Arts, was not the most appealing. Two things were for sure now, he would pay a lot more attention in Professor Lupin's DADA classes and he would learn as many spells from Gran's book as he could.

The contents of the book were very interesting. Yannick had never read a book that would describe Elven spells and their effects. He knew how to cast a few spells in Elven but they were nothing very fancy, mainly spells in the same order as "Lumos" or "Wingardium Leviosa". The ones in this book were divided in two categories, the Old World spells and the "New Spells". These last ones were quite more advanced and would require a bit of training before he could master them fully. Thus he was more focusing on the Old World Spells. He was avidly reading the story behind the "dispel magic" spell when he heard the door of the room open. He looked towards it and saw Alwena standing in the doorway in her pajamas and holding her griffin cudley toy in her left hand.

"What are you still doing up Little Devil?" Yannick asked her gently.

"Can't sleep." she replied walking towards him.

"And Zephyr can't help you out?" he asked, pointing to the gryffin.

Alwena shook her head as she reached him. "Can I stay with you for a bit?" she asked him.

"Of course you can." Yannick replied, smiling. He helped her on his lap and Alwena hugged him, resting her head on his chest. He felt a little surge of joy when she did this and hugged her back. They stayed like this for a few minutes, Yannick gently stroking her long honey blond locks.

"What are you reading?" she asked him after a while, pointing to his book.

"Just a book of spells that Gran lent to me." he answered.

"You have to study even though you are on holidays?"

Yannick let out a little laugh. "No, not really. Lets just say that I wanted to find out more about Elven spells and Gran was kind enough to lend me this book. It is very interesting."

"I really can't wait until I can start learning spells." Alwena said.

"Don't worry Little Devil," he chided her. "You will start soon enough and I will have a hard time to tease you then." he added.

"That is for sure!" she said with a sly smile. "When do you have to go back?"

"In about three days. I'll have to pass by London to meet some friends in Diagon Alley. I'll take the Hogwarts Express from there."

"Is it hard over there?"

"It is a bit harder than Morbihan's." he replied. "But I would say that Hogwarts is a very good school. There are very able professors there and the headmaster, Dumbledore, is a very wise and able man."

"I want to go there." Alwena said.

"I don't know if relatives can come to visit students during the term." Yannick replied.

"What if I go there as a student?"

Yannick looked at his young cousin, surprised. "You want to go to school at Hogwarts?" he asked her.

"Yes. I have been thinking about it and I really want to."

"Aren't you a bit young to already be thinking of that?"

"I am almost six!" she countered fiercely.

"I know Little Devil." he said. "You don't start wizardry school before another five years at least. You still have time to decide exactly."

"I already have." she said.

Yannick knew his cousin too much to know that she was going to change her mind right there. "Alright, alright! It is you who chooses." he said defensively. "You want to know something?"

"What?"

"I am very glad that you want to go to study there. It is a really good school. You should talk to Gran about that. I am sure she will help you towards it."

"You really think so?"

"If you need help, I can talk to her too." he told her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you!" she said, hugging him again.

"You are very welcome." he told her. "How about going to bed now? It is getting late for you."

"I am not really tired yet. Could you read me a story?" she asked

"Hey... aren't you a bit too old to need stories to sleep?" he teased her.

"Pretty pleeeeease." she said, looking at him with pleading eyes.

Yannick sighed. "Alright." he drew his wand and summoned a story book from one of the big bookshelves in the room. "You choose or I choose?" he asked her.

"You choose." she said.

"Okay, how about... 'The lost little dragon'?"

He knew that she would agree to that one. Alwena was a big fan of dragons. She nodded eagerly in answer.

"Once upon a time, in the plains overshadowed by the great mountains of Russia..." Yannick narrated. The book's pictures came to life at his words and started to move around. A little black dragon was soon seen, looking all sad and apparently lost. Yannick went on reading the adventure of the little dragon to find his mother and his encounters with other animals, some that feared him, others that helped him and others that were hostile to him. Alwena was looking intently at the pictures of the book captivated by the story. He continued the story until it end, some forty minutes later.

"So? Was I a good enough reader?" he asked her as he closed the book.

"Yesh," she replied with a yawn. "I really liked this story."

"How about bedtime now?" he asked her, getting up, still carrying her.

Alwena nodded and closing her eyes, rested her head on his shoulder. With a swift move of his wand, Yannick charmed the story book in its place on the bookshelf. He then went out of the living room and up the stairs towards Alwena's bedroom on the second floor. He did not turn on the light in the room as he entered and tucked his now sleeping cousin gently in her bed.

"Goodnight Little Devil." he said, kissing her forehead. "Sleep well."

"G'night." Alwena mumbled in her sleep.

Yannick looked at his sleeping cousin for a moment and then quietly went out of the room.

-----------

() "Do you understand this language?" Gran asked. (This is Quenya, the language of the Elves in Lord Of The Rings.)

()"Thank you, my Lady." he added in Elven

"You're welcome, pure one." Gran replied with a smile. (Quenya again)

As you might now have guessed, I am using two sources for my Elves, the world of Elfquest for their history (the crash and the shapechanger (Timmain). Also the treeshaping gift (Redlance) and the bonding with wolves.) and the world of Tolkien for their language. Hope it is not too disorienting.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Diagon Alley**

Yannick was wandering around in Diagon Alley. There were not that much students as compared to when he had been there right before taking the Hogwarts Express at the start of term. He was looking for Sean and Alex, with whom he had agreed to meet before going back to Hogwarts with the train the next day, but so far he had not found them. He also wanted to bring his wand at Ollivanders, just to make sure that everything was fine with it. His only problem was that he was not very sure as to where that shop was in Diagon Alley. Already having a wand at the start of term, he had not needed to visit the shop. He was just about to ask a Wizard passing by for direction when he heard a voice behind him.

"Oy! Silverleaf!"

He turned around and smiled at Sean who was coming towards him, followed by Cynthia.

"Finally found you two!" he said, hugging the young Irishman and patting him roughly on the back. "How are you my friend?"

"Doing great! Glad to see that the Whomping Willow did not damage you too badly." Sean replied.

"Still knocked me out for a day, but all is well now." Yannick said. "And how is the lovely Cynthia doing today?" he added, taking her hand and doing a small curtsy.

The young Ravenclaw chuckled. "Very good, Yannick. Thank you for asking." she replied.

"Hands off my girlfriend Silverleaf." Sean mockingly threatened. "Or would you prefer that I report what I have just seen to Alexandra when she joins us?"

"You wouldn't!" Yannick said, laughing. "Where is she by the way? She was supposed to meet us today."

"I have good reasons to believe that we will find her in the Quidditch supplies shop. She said something about getting a new beater club when I last saw her." Cynthia said.

"I should have known." Yannick said. "Shall we go and check if she is there?"

"Absolutely!" Sean said. "The faster we find your girlfriend, the safer I will feel with mine." he added.

"Need I remind you that this is dangerous territory O'Maley?" Yannick said. "Now march!" he added, pushing Sean roughly in the back.

"Aye, aye captain!" Sean said between fits of laughter.

"Boys..." Cynthia muttered, shaking her head and looking at the sky.

The trio walked to the shop in question, Yannick and Sean continuing their verbal fight and taking a lot of pleasure in it. They reached the shop, Quality Quidditch Supplies, and Sean looked at the window before shaking his head.

"I mean, if this shop is really selling quality stuff, then they maybe should take away the Chudley Cannons outfits and replace them by a better team." he said.

"Maybe." Yannick replied. "But I do admit that the firebolt in the window looks in great condition. Not that I could afford it." he added.

"Me neither." Sean sighed. "There is one student who has one at Hogwarts though." he said.

"You're kidding me? Who?" Yannick asked.

"Harry Potter." Cynthia answered.

"He got it in his third year." Sean added. "Must have made almost half of the school jealous."

"Lucky guy." Yannick said. "Surely helps him for catching the snitch." He looked into the shop through the window and wondered if he should go in with Cynthia and Sean or find a reason to go in there alone.

"Oh dear!" Cynthia said suddenly. "I just remembered I need some more ink. Care to help me out on this Sean?" she added quickly, grabbing the young Irishman's arm.

"Ink? But had you not... Ow!!!" Sean said after she had stepped on his foot.

"Meet you back in a few minutes Yannick." she said while pulling a confused Sean in the direction of another shop.

Yannick smiled internally and made a mental note to thank Cynthia for her move later. He pushed the entrance door of the shop and went in. The shop was bigger than it looked from the outside. Several big shelves could be seen, each with a different Quidditch supply. He oriented himself a bit by looking at the signs that were hanging from the ceiling. A snitch passed in front of him at one point, soon followed by a young boy who was trying to catch it. He smiled and reached the shelves where the beater clubs were displayed.

Alex was there, apparently deciding if the club she had picked was good for her. She was making different types of swings with it, changing swinging hand and making it flip. He stood there, his shoulder resting on a shelf, looking at her making her moves and admiring the precision and care she put in each of them.

"Are you going to going to continue and stare like this or are you going to at least say hello?" she said, pulling him out of his reverie. She was looking at him from behind her shoulder, clearly smiling.

"I did not know you had seen me and I did not want to disturb you." he replied. "You seemed very intent in what you were doing." he added.

"I take my Quidditch seriously." she replied.

"I can see that. Planning on going professional one day?" he asked

"I don't know yet. Maybe." she answered. "Where are Cynthia and Sean?"

"Well, Cynthia needed to buy some ink and she dragged Sean with her." he said. "we meet them outside the shop." he added.

"Those two." she said. "They really like each other."

"Yes they do." Yannick answered. "So? The club is good enough for you?" he asked, pointing at her beater club.

She made it twirl in the air and caught it again. "Nicely balanced and strong, but not too heavy. What do you think?" she asked, throwing it over to him.

He caught it with both hands and looked at it closely. "Looks real good." he said, bring horizontal to his right eye to check the smoothness of the wood. While doing so he also looked at the wood through his gift. The wood was perfect on the outside, but the the inside held a flaw. A crack that could cause the club to break during a game. "Easily fixed" he thought, while using his gift to mend the wood. "Yep, perfect actually." he said once he was done. He walked over to her. "So you take it?" he asked, giving her the club back.

"Yes." she answered. "I think it is exactly what I need."

She went to the counter of the shop to pay for it and get it wrapped up. Then, whit Alex's purchase under her arm, they headed towards the entrance of the shop. Yannick opened it and stepped sideways to let her out first.

"Thank you." she said, smiling and going out. She however stopped in the doorway and Yannick saw her smile fade away from her face and being replaced with that of anger. In front of them were Malfoy and his usual gorillas, Crabbe and Goyle.

"You have a problem, Silverleaf?" Malfoy asked when he saw Yannick.

"Actually yes," Yannick replied. "We would like to go out and you are blocking the way."

"You are blocking the way in." Malfoy countered, with a smirk on his face.

"Malfoy, basic manners ask for a gentleman to always let a lady go first when there is a door." Yannick said. "This is at least what I have been taught by my grand mother, a believe me, she is an authority when it comes to manners and well behaving."

"You won't be acting that proud when I get my way with you, Silverleaf." Malfoy said, his face having gone a bit more red.

"Malfoy, you are not scaring me and are actually starting to seriously annoy me." Yannick said. "Now move."

"Or what? you will hex me?" Malfoy replied, his disdainful smirk coming back on his face. "No underage magic out of school Silverleaf."

"I do not think that we will need magic to wipe that smirk off your face Malfoy." Alex said

"And what are you going to do?" Malfoy said, amused. "Slap me?"

"No," she said, tapping her new club in the palm of her hand. "I think this would be much more appropriate for it. Now move before I need to dirty my club on your greasy faces."

Malfoy recoiled back at the sight of the club and left a space for Alex and Yannick to pass through.

"You are lucky today Mudblood." they heard him mutter as they passed. "But your time will come soon enough."

Yannick was about to lash back at Malfoy but Alex grabbed him by the arm and led him away, towards the ink shop where Cynthia and Sean were supposed to be. They met them at the entrance of the shop.

"Alex!" Cynthia said as she came out. "How are you dear?" she asked, embracing her friend.

"I am fine thanks." Alex replied. "Found your ink?" she asked her.

"Yes, just the one I wanted." Cynthia said. "Sean was great help."

Yannick looked at Sean who looked like he was trying to not laugh. "Why do I have the feeling they had planned this out before?" he asked himself.

"By the way Yannick," Sean asked. "Why is Altair not with you?"

"Sean, do you really think that I would go around London with a wolf? Can you imagine the panic this would create?" he asked.

"Oh... right..." Sean said.

"Right. Now can you show me where Ollivander's is from here?" he asked.

"Sure! It is just down the road." his friend replied. "Why?"

"I need to get my wand checked. Had a little accident with it recently." Yannick said. "Want to come with?" he asked the girls.

"Of course!" Alex and Cynthia said.

"Follow me." Sean said.

He led them down the road until a shop down from where they were. It looked old and its sign added even more to that with the text "fine maker of wands since 382 BC".

The first thing that struck Yannick when they entered the shop was the shelves. They were all around the shop and each were full of slender boxes. The only places that were devoid of them were the window to the street and a place at the center of the shop where the counter was.

"Is there a wand in each of these boxes?" Yannick asked to Sean, awed by what he saw.

"Yeah, I had the same reaction than you when I first entered here." Sean replied. "I was quite spooked too. Mr Ollivander is a very curious character, you'll see." he added.

Yannick did not reply. He was suddenly feeling very strange. Each wand still contained life energy from the tree it had been cut out from. This mixed with their own unique core gave them a distinct signature. He had already spotted this when he had been going through Diagon Alley and other places with wizards around and the feeling was very faint usually. But here, with over a thousand different wands in such a close space, the feeling was almost overwhelming.

"Well, well, well." A soft voice said in the back of the shop. "I did not expect a group of four to come in my shop today. Business is usually very calm during the year. My only real high peak is before the start of the new term."

On old man came in from the back. He was standing quite straight and had very striking silver eyes that met with Yannick's own for a moment, before surveying the others.

"Well I do remember selling wands to three of you at least." Mr Ollivander said. "You Mr O'Maley got one of ebony with a female unicorn hair, nine inches, quite springy an very good for defense work. You have been taking good care of it I hope?"

"Yes sir." Sean replied, holding out his wand for Mr Ollivander to see.

"Very good, very good. Now, Miss Dewitt on the other hand," Mr Ollivander said, turning to Alexandra. "you preferred one out of maple with a phoenix core. Seven inches, quite whippy and very magical. Lets see how well you took care of it?" Alex held out her wand proudly. One could see she had polished it very recently. "Almost impeccable, Miss Dewitt. Nice to see that you are taking good care of it." he said and then turned to face Cynthia.

"You were a bit more hard to find a wand to Miss Swanson." he said. "But we found one after all, didn't we? Holly with a dragon heartstring core. Eight inches and very good for hexes, but I do hope you are not fooling with those in shool, heh?" he added, his eyes twinkling a bit. Cynthia blushed slightly and showed her wand.

"In very good condition." Mr Ollivander commented. "Now... Mr Silverleaf." he added, turning to face Yannick, who was startled by the fact that the man knew his family name without having ever met him. "I was not expecting to see a Silverleaf in this shop until a few years from now. I do trust that you are not here for a wand? What can I help you with young man?"

"Well... I had an accident and my wand broke in the process." he said. "I was planning to pass by your shop to see if it could be fixed but while I was at home, we fixed it and it apparently works again now. I just wanted to show it to you to make sure that it is in good working order and wont play any tricks on me."

"A wise move." Mr Ollivander said. "Wands can sometimes be fixed if they break, but it should always be done by a wandmaker. Could I take a look at it please?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Yannick took his wand out from the sheath on his left wrist and handed it to the wandmaker who examined it closely.

"Interesting conception." Mr Ollivander said. "Mahogany, ten inches... the wood is in very good condition, impressive for a wand, almost if it has been cut from the tree a few weeks ago. I cannot place the maker, where did you get this wand?"

"From where I live, in France." Yannick answered, unsure if he should give more details.

"A work of art." the wandmaker said. "I can make out some silver motifs on it that seem to be embedded in the wood and I am at a loss to find any cracks in this wand. The core is... Oh my! A hippogriff's talon. Very unusual and rare but excellent for charm work. The only problem with this type of core, and one of the reasons I do not use it, is that it requires minute adjusting for it to work. Get it wrong by just a few millimeters and there goes your wand. Very tricky type of core. Did you test it?"

"Yes, lighting up a fire. It worked fine." Yannick answered.

"Then it should be fine. Let me try." He pointed the wand to the ceiling and said. "Avis!" A loud bang was heard and some smoke came out from the tip of Yannick's wand. Two birds emerged from the smoke and started to fly around the shop. Mr Ollivander faced Yannick again and handed him his wand back. "In perfect working order Mr Silverleaf. Whoever did the repair job was very skillful at it."

"Thank you very much for your time sir." Yannick said, putting the wand back in its sheath.

Sean, Alex and Cynthia had started to move to leave the shop and Yannick was about to follow them when he felt Mr Ollivander's hand on his shoulder.

"I did not want to say it aloud in front of your friends as I thought you might not want to make it known." the wandmaker whispered to him. "This wand is a fine specimen of Elven wand making. That you are able to use it says a lot of your lineage and magical gift. Take great care of it."

"I will sir." Yannick said, smiling. "Thank you again." he added before going out from the shop.

"Is this guy a Seer?" he asked Sean when he joined his friends outside. "I have never met him in my life and yet he knew who I was."

"Scary, huh?" Sean asked, a knowing grin on his face.

"Mr Ollivander has been around for ages." Cynthia said. "My parents both went to his shop when they chose their wands."

"I heard a rumor that he has been around since the founding of the shop." Alex said.

"A bit far fetched if you as me." Yannick said. "But still, he is impressive."

"So? Where to now?" Sean asked, changing the subject. "I still have a few hours before I need to head home."

"I don't know." Yannick answered. "I am not that familiar with Diagon Alley yet. You three choose, I'll follow."

"Ladies?" Sean asked.

"The Waving Wand?" Alex suggested. "Not that thirsty though." she added.

"Me neither." Cynthia said. "Who would be in for ice cream?" she asked.

"All for it." Sean replied.

"Same here." Alex agreed.

"Lead the way Cynthia." Yannick said

She led them to the ice cream parlor, Florean Fortesque's ice cream shop. There were only a few costumers and so they had no problems to find a seat at a table near the window. They ordered and while waiting for the ice creams to arrive started talking about Hogwarts and the lessons.

"Is it only me, or is transfiguration hard?" Yannick asked.

"I find it easy." Sean replied. "But it is true that you need good concentration to make a transfiguration work properly."

"Must be why you mess up yours if I mention Cynthia?" Yannick asked with a sly smile.

"Sod off Silverleaf." Sean said, sending a ball of paper in his direction.

"I do find it hard as well." Cynthia said. "What subjects are you good at Yannick?"

"Well... I am pretty good at Charms..." he started.

"I can vouch for that one." Alex said.

"We are talking magical charms, right?" Sean asked. "Because I am not sure if the other category fits you Nick." he added laughing.

"Oh... very funny O'Maley..." Yanncik said on sarcastic tone. "Remind me to change your pillow into a spider when we arrive at Hogwarts tomorrow."

They all laughed at that. The ice creams arrived in the meantime.

"No, to continue the subject." Yannick said between a spoonful of his ice cream. "I really like the DADA lessons. It is one of the classes I prefer."

"Yeah." Cynthia said. "Professor Lupin is quite a good teacher at that. We had him in third year as well."

"Too bad that some of the students fear him." Alex said.

"Really?" Yannick asked. "Why is that?"

"He's a werewolf." Sean said.

"A werewolf?" Yannick said. "But there must not be such a danger if Dumbledore is letting him teach, right?"

"Apparently not." Alex said. "I heard that he gets a wolfsbane potion each full moon so he transforms harmlessly. This is why we never have DADA classes during the full moon period." she added.

"I had never realized that." Yannick said.

"I think it is good that Professor Snape knows how to brew it." Cynthia said. "It is a very complex potion to do."

"You know that I hear that Snape actually has been trying to get the post of DADA teacher since years now?" Sean said. "He never managed to get it."

"Lucky us!" Yannick said. "I would hate to have him teach us DADA lessons."

"Do you think he would poison Professor Lupin to get the job?" Sean asked.

"Sean!" Cynthia said, sounding mildly offended. "We are talking about a teacher here!"

"I do not like Snape either," Alex said. "but I do not think that Dumbledore would have hired him if he could do such a thing to get a teacher position."

"I agree with that." Yannick said. "Dumbledore is way too intelligent to be fooled like that."

"And despite the fact that he is not the most liked teacher, he is still a very good potion master." Cynthia added.

"I hate to say that but I agree on this point." Yannick said. "My potion making got better in his classes.

"Mine too." Alex agreed.

"Yeah, okay." Sean said. "He is a good teacher but I really hate the way he favors the Slytherins the whole time."

"Well, he is their head of House." Yannick pointed out.

"True, but still. You know how Professor Sprout is if we go out of line." Sean answered. "I doubt that Professor Flitwick is much different." he added, looking at Cynthia.

"That is right." she agreed. "And I hear that Professor McGonagall is even more strict with her house."

Yannick was about to answer something when his attention was taken by movement outside. He could see that there were people rushing to the newspaper stand opposite from the ice cream parlor.

"What the?" he started.

"Looks like an extra edition of the Daily Prophet is out." Cynthia commented.

"Yeah... and from the looks of it, they have quite a news in it." Sean said. "I'll go to get one copy." he added, standing up and heading out.

Yannick saw him rush to the newspaper stand and take a copy of the paper. Sean glanced at the front page and then rushed again to the ice cream shop.

"What is the news?" Cynthia asked him when he entered.

Sean did not answer and dropped the newspaper at the center of the table. His face was white and Yannick saw an expression that he had never seen on his friend's face before, fear. He heard Alex gasp and looked at the front page of the newspaper.

"Merlin preserve us," he thought when he read the title of the main story.

_SPECIAL EDITION_

_ANOTHER MASS BREAKOUT AT AZKABAN_

_The news has just come in from our special correspondent at Azkaban that another mass breakout has occurred at the prison. The exact number of the detainee that have escaped is not known and still needs to be confirmed by the Ministry of Magic but it is believed that a number of Death Eaters that had been captured last year in the department of Mysteries are amongst them. _

_The persons that have so far been confirmed as escaped are:_

_Lucius Malfoy, _

_Frederik Goyle, _

_Hugh Crabbe, _

_Rodolphus Lestrange, _

_Rabastan Lestrange, _

_Antonin Dolohov, _

_Walden Macnair, _

_Augustus Rookwood,_

Yannick stopped reading after those names and started to think wildly in his head. The Death Eaters captured last year were now out in the open again and some of them were known murderers and dangerous. Voldemort was on the rise again. What should he do? He was supposed to practice his Treeshaping gift but after what Gran had told him what had happened to his mother's Gran father should he really use it? Should he wait for the time of Voldemort to be over? Would he be really defeated on day?

"Yannick? Are you okay?" he heard Alex ask. He felt her hand on his arm.

He looked at her. She must have seen that he was gone in thoughts and that they were not nice ones as she was looking at him worriedly.

"Yeah... I am fine." he answered. "It is just that this news is a bit too much to digest." he added.

"You Know Who is rallying his followers it would seem." Sean said.

"I reckon Hogwarts should be quite safe." Cynthia said. "Dumbledore is still the greatest Wizard in England and there are powerful spells protecting the castle."

"Malfoy and his cronies will start to be unbearable." Cynthia said.

"Malfoy!" Yannick said, suddenly hitting the table with his fist. "This is why this little snot was so full of himself when we saw him. I am sure he knew about it already!" he added, looking at Alex.

"What do you mean Yannick?" Sean asked.

"He threatened Alex again." Yannick replied. "When we were leaving the Quidditch shop. Called her a Mudblood and told her her time was soon at hand." he explained.

"That git!" Sean exclaimed.

"You don't suppose that he meant that he would..." Alex started.

"Over my dead body!" Yannick interrupted, a bit more loud than he intended to. He felt himself blushing furiously when he saw that his three friends were looking at him, two of them trying to hide their amused smiles.

"Thanks Yannick." Alex said.

"You're welcome." Yannick answered. "I just hate to see the way this guy acts with others."

"Don't we all?" Sean said sarcastically. "I hate to say this but I better head home fast. With this news out, my parents will want to know where I am." he said, standing up and reaching for something in his pocket.

"Hands off your money pouch, O'Maley. I'm paying." Yannick said. "For all four of us." he added, looking at the two Ravenclaws.

"You don't really have to Yannick." Cynthia.

"I know that, but I want to." he replied. "See it as my thanks for making the lost Frenchie feel at home in Hogwarts." he added with a smile.

With this the four friends stood up from the table and took their coats. Yannick went to pay fro the ice creams and they went out in Diagon Alley.

"I am heading to the subway to go home. Anyone going that direction?" Sean asked.

"I am." Alex replied.

"I am taking the floo network." Cynthia said. "More reliable." she added with a grin.

"Tell me about it. I hate the Muggle subway." Sean said.

"So we meet tomorrow at Kings Cross?" Yannick asked.

"Yep. First one arrived reserves a compartment in the front carriage." Sean said.

"Works for me." Alex agreed.

"See you tomorrow." Cynthia said to Sean, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

The friends split, Alex and Sean going back to Muggle London, Cynthia going to the floo network central in Diagon Alley and Yannick making his way towards St Mungo's, to see if he could talk to his mother.

While he walked there, he thought again on what the news of the breakout could mean for him and life in Hogwarts. Voldemort and his followers would be more active now. But who could stand up in front of them? Harry Potter had managed to defeat Voldemort and his plans it was rumored, but what could a sixteen year old do against a powerful dark wizard?

"Funny..." he thought sarcastically. "I was thinking the same about myself just a few days ago. The difference is that Andrelith is one wizard. Potter will have to face Voldemort and his followers, maybe alone."

He was so much into his thoughts that he did not take real care of where he was walking and ended up running into someone. The person staggered back and and books fell on the floor. Yannick discovered to his horror that the person was his DADA teacher.

"Professor Lupin, sir. I am so sorry. I should have paid more attention to where I was going. " he said, kneeling down to pick up the books that were on the floor.

"It's alright Mr Silverleaf." Professor Lupin said. "I must admit that I was not paying attention either, else I would have avoided this little collision."

Yannick stood up again and handed the books to Professor Lupin.

"Thank you Mr Silverleaf." he said. "Enjoying your day in Diagon Alley?"

"Uh... yes." Yannick answered. "I was with friends but... lets say the Daily Prophet news cut short our day. I just parted with them and I was on my way to St Mungo's, to see my mother."

"That is perfectly understandable. I actually wanted to talk to you about something." Professor Lupin said. "Do you have some minutes you could spare?" he asked, gesturing to a bench near where they were.

"Of course sir." Yannick said.

They sat down on the bench and Professor Lupin looked at Yannick.

"I have looked at the way you are doing in my classes and I must say that I am pleased to see you doing well." he started. "I however have the feeling that you are not using your full potential and that you are in a way holding back. Am I wrong?"

Yannick was surprised at the question. It was true he had been holding back in these lessons. He knew that his spells were usually stronger than normal due to his wand and his Elven lineage. Add to this the fact that he was used to friendly duels at home and his former school, he had held back so as to be sure not to harm anyone by mistake.

"No sir, you are right." he answered.

"Is there any specific reasons for that?" his professor asked.

Yannick thought for a moment. Professor Lupin was a nice person. Dumbledore seemed to trust him very much. But still he was not sure if he could tell him what truly was on his mind.

"Yes sir, there is. But..." he answered. "it is kind of complicated and I am not sure I can speak about it." he added.

"That can be understandable." Professor Lupin answered. "But I do have a little piece advice for you Mr Silverleaf. With the events that are in motion now, I think it would be well for you to train at your full potential. It will be most beneficial for you and in a way for your friends as well."

Yannick looked at his teacher and wondered what else he knew about him. But in a way he knew his professor was right. The question was, where could one train his Elven spells without persons watching him?"

"You are right sir." he answered. "But I am afraid it might be a bit difficult for me to do so."

"That is alright Mr Silverleaf," Professor Lupin answered. "I am not trying to make you do things you do not want to. Just be sure to come to see me if you change your mind, I am sure I will be able to help you out." he added with a smile.

Yannick was about to answer when a snow white owl landed between them on the bench, its golden eyes looking expectantly at Professor Lupin.

"Hello Hedwig." the teacher said. "You have something for me my friend?"

The owl screeched and extended its leg toward him. He took the parchment that was attached to it and read it. Yannick saw his teacher's face go a bit darker at what he read.

"Well Mr Silverleaf." Professor Lupin said, while standing up from the bench. "I am afraid that I must now leave to attend some unexpected business. Do think about what I said and come to see me if you need help on your problem." he added.

"I will sir." Yannick said. "And thank you."

"Do not mention it." Professor Lupin said. "I look forward to seeing you in my next DADA lesson at Hogwarts." he added.

Professor Lupin disaparated quickly, leaving Yannick to wonder about what had just happened. He looked at Hedwig, who was still perched on the bench. The owl looked at him and then letting out a screech, flew away into the London sky.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Back to Hogwarts**

_i'Meneldalie_ - "the Elven Way"

_Lye duraser naa i'Meneldalie, tanya n'eldelie, imya tyara ri'avarien tyar, awruva ten' ai'er. Lye uma mani lye irma avaene awrien ai'er. Coia ulua im valina ar' malia ten' ai'er. Eller naa ai tanya ettula en'dagora, ar'lye avara dagor iire eller naa men. Nan'eller naa nat'or ten'man lye dagora hiraetha. Tharien i'men en' nat'or n'sanuva yassen rangwien. Eldalie caela an rinar, dethola tyaralle yassen nomin pelu sen. Mellonea, ar'gothea, rinuva._

"Our most important belief is the Elven Way, that no elf, by action or inaction, shall cause harm to another elf. We do as we will as long as no harm is done. Life is a balance between happiness for yourself and concern for others. There is rarely a point to any conflict, and we try to avoid battles if we can. There are things, however, that we can not avoid. Disruption of the balance is not to be taken lightly. Elven memories are long ones, choose your actions wisely around them. Friends, and enemies, are not forgotten."

Yannick was reading again the first page of the book that Gran had given him during the holidays. Written in gold on the page were Elven scripts, describing the most important tenet of the Elves, the "Elven Way". Gran had told him about it many times and he knew that his family had also adopted it in a way, thus still keeping a tie with the Elven folks that still existed in the world. He had managed to find an empty classroom where he could read his book and practice his spells. It was easier today, a Saturday, than it had been during the week they had come back from Christmas holidays. Most of the students were outside in the snow and those that were not were either in the library or in their common rooms.

The week back from the holidays had brought with it its share of bad news. Hogsmeade weekends had been cut down and while a clear reason had not been given, it had been understood that it was because of the Azkaban breakout. Altair had reported to him that there were Aurors patrolling the village and the forest but so far, there had been no sightings of the escapees.

He shook himself from these thoughts and went back onto his reading. One of the first spells, and the one that he had chosen to master first, was the "Sphere of Light" spell. It seemed to have the same effect than the Lumos spell, with the difference that it took the form of a floating light sphere that would then follow its caster and in more powerful versions of it, could go anywhere the caster wished it to. The casting of the spell seemed rather simple, one had to say the incantation in Elven while making a circle with the tip of the wand, the size of the sphere needed.

After having read the way to pronounce it right a few times, Yannick stood up and took his wand out of its sheath. He checked that it was working by drawing the Silverleaf emblem in the air and was satisfied to see the spell completing itself as usual. The wand was ready to cast the spell. He held it at arms length and uttered the incantation.

"_Me'a morgil_," he said, making the needed circle movement.

The circle turned silvery but did not turn into a sphere and disappeared within seconds.

"Perhaps I need to say the incantation louder," he thought.

He went to the door and cast an imperturbable charm onto in, in addition to the colloportus charm he had cast on it earlier, so as not to be disturbed. That done he went to the middle of the room again and this time spoke the incantation clearly and with more force. The circle turned silvery again and started to form into a sphere, but like the previous try, it dissolved before to become a light sphere.

Yannick sighed and went at it again. Each time he tried the spell would get more stable. After about three quarters of an hour he managed to cast a small sphere of light, the size of a tennis ball, that stayed in front of him and did not disappear. He moved around the room and the sphere followed him, casting a soft golden light around him. Yannick also realized that the fact that this spell was active did not prevent him from casting other non-Elven spells with his wand.

"Very handy," he thought, "Now, lets switch it off."

He pointed his wand towards the sphere and said, "Nox." But nothing happened. The sphere of light was still there, hovering as if nothing had been cast. He tried the "nox" incantation several more times but the sphere still refused to go out. This could prove problematic. He had to get it out or else he was bound to have this sphere of light following him the whole time and people were bound to ask questions.

He prodded the sphere sharply with his wand, hoping that it might pop and go out, but the sphere stayed alight and stuck to the tip of his wand. He shook it sharply and it detached, going a few meters in the direction it had been sent, before going back to hover near him. Thinking this was handy (and funny at the same time) he tried the move several times, each time the sphere came back to hover near him. But while it was fun, the time was getting nearer to supper and Yannick started to feel a bit panicked with the idea of not being able to put the sphere out.

He went back to the book and started to go through the spell again, looking for a clue on the way to put it out. Not finding this in his book he started to think what spell could be used to take the sphere out. The spell had the same purpose as the Lumos spell and to switch off such a spell, one had to say "nox". Now, what could be the equivalent of nox in Elven? The answer suddenly hit him and cursing himself for not having thought of it before, he pointed at the sphere again.

"_Dome_," he said. The sphere went out. "Of course!" he thought. Nox meant night in Latin, so did _dome_ in Elven.

He let out a sigh of relief and looked at his watch. He had still twenty minutes to practice before supper would be served. He held his wand at arm's length again and conjured a sphere of light again, this time making it the size of a ping pong ball. Using the appropriate word he switched it off. He continued for ten more minutes, each time changing the size of the sphere and managing to switch it off. Feeling quite happy with himself he went over to the door and took the two charms he had cast on it off. He summoned his book to him and tucking it under his arm, opened the door to go to his common room before the supper.

He however did not go out as right in front of the door was a young Gryffindor student with vivid red hair, looking at him with her arm crossed on her chest. She had apparently been waiting for the door to open as she did not seem surprised to see him but rather suspicious.

"What were you doing in there?" she asked him, narrowing her bright brown eyes.

"I was reading a book," he answered, waving the spell book in front of her.

"Really? Why do you not do that in the library? Or in your common room?" she asked.

"Maybe because I did not want people to ask me questions or disturb me?" he answered.

"This is why you put a colloportus and an imperturbable charm on the door?"

"How the hex do you know that?" he asked her, surprised.

"Because I tried to come in and could not," she answered. "What were you doing in there anyway? From the light going on and off I highly doubt that you were reading a book," she added.

"What... are you spying on me?" he answered, annoyed. "I was practicing my spell work and I put the charms on so as in order not to be disturbed. There, happy? I hope so because that is all you will get," he snapped.

Leaving the Gryffindor he went down to the Great Hall to eat supper. What was her problem? He was not doing anything bad. Why did she have to be so nosy? He settled near Sean at the Hufflepuff table, letting his spell book fall loudly on the bench.

"Well someone looks grouchy this evening," Sean commented. "What's wrong, mate?"

"Oh nothing," Yannick answered. "I just had an encounter with a nosy Gryffindor. I think she was a fifth year or something," he added.

"Oho! Interesting," Sean said. "A contender to the prize that Alex is going for?" he added with a sly smile.

Yannick chuckled at that and hit him playfully on the arm. "Not even close, mate," he said. "Look, there she is, by the entrance,"

The Gryffindor had come in the hall. She was standing at the entrance apparently looking for someone. She spotted who she was looking for at the Gryffindor table and went to sit by them.

"Oh... yeah, definitely not a contender, indeed," Sean said.

"You know her?" Yannick asked, taking a mouthful of stew.

"Definitely do," Sean answered. "She's Ginny Weasley, the little sister of Ronald Weasley. Fifth year, in the Gryffindor Quidditch team and together with Dean Thomas, a sixth year, also in Gryffindor."

"Well, now I managed to make her suspicious of me," Yannick said.

"Why do you say that?" Sean said.

Yannick explained what had happened and how she had been asking him why he had been locking himself in a classroom ' just to read a book'. Sean did not seem too worried.

"Well, did you lie to her?" he asked Yannick.

"No," he answered. "I did not say exactly what I was doing but I most definitely did not lie."

"Then you should not really worry," Sean said. "She's a good person. Quite friend with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and the rest. She earned her house quite some points last year with a something she did at the end of the term. At the most she will tell a teacher, and that will definitely not be Snape. I trust you can tell a teacher what you are doing, right?"

"Depends of who. Dumbledore for sure. Sprout, Lupin, McGonagall and Flitwick maybe," Yannick answered. "I mean, I even have not told you what I was doing there either," he pointed out.

"So?" Sean asked. "I know it is not anything bad. We are in the same dorm and I think I would have had ample time to see if you were up to something fishy. You can tell me when you want to or are allowed to. No big problem here," he added.

"Thanks, Sean," Yannick said.

"You are welcome," Sean replied. "Anyhow, did you do your homework, yet?" he asked.

"Yes, I finished it this morning," Yannick said. "We did not have much," he added.

"True," his friend replied. "I am done as well so, what do you say of a chess game after supper?"

"In the common room?"

"Nah... I want to talk to Cynthia too so we'll have to play here in the Great Hall. Are you in?" Sean asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Yannick said. "It will be fun."

"My thoughts exactly," Sean replied with a grin.

An hour later, they were back in the Great Hall deep into a chess game. Alex and Cynthia had settled next to them. Cynthia was finishing some homework and Alex was giving her a hand while at the same time watching the ongoing game. Sean and Yannick were deep into the game, each one trying to get the advantage over the other, but neither really achieving it yet.

"Tour prend pion en A5," () Yannick said to his rook.

"A vos ordres!" () the rook replied before moving toward Sean's unprotected pawn on A3. It gave the pawn a shove to the left and settle on the spot.

"You could at least say 'excuse me'," the pawn said to the rook before going off the board grumbling.

"Your chess pieces should focus more on the game than on manners," Yannick said to Sean, amused.

"Tell me about it," Sean sighed. "And each time I play against a girl, they tell me I should be a gentleman and lose the game. I bet the on who built this set was a manners maniac."

"Or he was a real gentleman," Cynthia pointed out, while writing on her essay. "Unlike someone whose name I wont mention," she added, nudging him in the ribs.

"Hey!" Sean said, looking vexed, "I can be a gentleman too, when I have to."

Cynthia smiled.

"I know," she said. "I am just teasing," she added, kissing him on the cheek.

"Your move, Sean," Yannick pointed out.

"Right." The Irishman looked at the board for a while, trying to figure out what his next move would be. Yannick could tell that he was a bit worried by the way he was biting on his thumb's fingernail. "I got it," he muttered. "Black Knight to C4," he said. His knight moved to the designated position, threatening Yannick's Rook.

"Pion de C7 a C6," Yannick said after having reviewed his situation on the board. Alex shot him a puzzled look at this move as his Rook was still in danger of being taken by Sean's Knight. Yannick discretely pointed to his Queen. Alex understood what he was planning and nodded in approval. Yannick's Queen was now protecting his Rook and if Sean captured it with his Knight, Yannick could retaliate with his Queen and put Sean's King in check as well.

Sean thought for a while. "Black Knight..." he started but stopped suddenly and did not continue. "No, Black Bishop from C1 to G6. And check!" he finally said with a proud smile on his face. Yannick saw that his little trap had not worked and countered Sean's move by castling his King with his second Rook.

The game continued for a good twenty minutes until Yannick finally managed to get Sean into a checkmate.

"A good game, Sean," Yannick said. "I think your only mistake is that you did not develop your pieces on your King's side of the board," he added.

"I think so, too," Sean agreed. "But you had Alex's help, too," he pointed out.

"Not that he really needed it, Sean," Alex countered. "Besides, at least I did not hide that I was helping like Cynthia did," she added with a sly grin.

"I did not!" Cynthia said, blushing a bit and sounding offended.

"Sure Cynthia," Alex replied. "But you will not make me believe that A4, C1, H3 and G6 are ingredients for your potion essay," she added, pointing to small small figures scribbled at the bottom of her friend's parchment.

Cynthia opened her mouth in an apparent attempt to deny, but did not say anything. Instead she exhaled loudly and rested her chin in the cup of her right hand, pouting. "You and your eyesight," she grumbled to Alex.

"You have to have good eyesight to be a beater and play Quidditch," Yannick pointed out to her, laughing. "You should know that," he added, causing Alex and Sean to laugh.

Cynthia did not answer but instead stuck out her tongue at him before laughing with them.

The confrontation that Yannick was dreading came at the end of the next DADA Hufflepuff had that same week. Professor Lupin had just dismissed the class when he asked Yannick to come to his desk as he had a question to ask. Yannick looked at Sean who shot him a 'don't worry' look and told him that he would wait for him outside.

"Yes, Sir?" Yannick asked as he reached the Professor's desk.

"It has been brought to my attention that you have been seen going into deserted classrooms for the past week," Professor Lupin said. "Is there any reason for this?"

Yannick winced internally at the question. He did not really know what to answer back to this question. At least not without revealing what Gran had told him during the holidays.

"I was practicing my spell work, Sir," he answered.

"Yes, and that is what you told Ginny as well," Professor Lupin said. "Not that she really believed you, I am afraid," he added.

"So she told you?" Yannick asked.

"Yes, she did," he answered. "What were you doing there Yannick?" he asked, looking at him in the eyes.

Yannick shifted uneasily on his feet. "I told you before Sir," he answered, "I was practicing my spell work."

"You are amongst the top students in your year in this class and I don't really think you need 'extra practice'," Professor Lupin countered.

"I am not that good, Sir," Yannick said, looking at the floor.

"You are more able than you let it be seen and you know that, Yannick," Professor Lupin said. "You could do well in a seventh year DADA class right now and you have more control on your spells than most of the students of your year, save three or four special cases," he added.

Yannick did not answer and instead fiddled with the strap of his bag.

"Ginny mentioned a book that you said you were reading?" Professor Lupin went on.

Yannick sighed. "Yes Sir," he answered, "It is a spellbook and is the one I refer to for my spells."

"Is it one from the restricted section of the library?"

"No, Sir," Yannick said. "I have no access to that part of the library."

"Try telling that to James and Sirius," Lupin said under his breath. "I trust it is not a dark arts book?" he added to Yannick.

"No, Sir," Yannick said. "It was lent to me by my relative at Christmas. Let's say it contains exotic spells," he added with a small smile.

Professor Lupin let out a small chuckle. "I'll take your word for that Yannick. and I will talk to Ginny to let her know that nothing bad is ongoing," he said. "I just want you to know, you are not in trouble. It is just that with the events of the holidays, the teachers and some students are paying more attention to anything out of the ordinary taking place in Hogwarts," he added.

"I understand, Sir," Yannick replied. "If I come upon anything I will let you know as well."

"Please do so," Professor Lupin said. "You can go now," he added.

Yannick turned and headed out of the DADA classroom, unaware of the small smile that had crept up on the face of his professor. Outside he met with Sean who was sitting on a nearby bench.

"So?" his friend said, picking up his bag and standing up. "Did you get chewed over?"

"No," Yannick answered, joining his friend. "It was fine actually," he added.

"I told you it would," Sean replied. "You were not doing anything wrong and Professor Lupin is a cool guy, unlike Professor Snape," he added.

Yannick laughed at that. "Definitely," he said. "So? Where to? DADA was our last class for the day," he asked.

"Well... Cynthia said that she would be at the Quidditch pitch looking at her team practicing," Sean said. "Want to join me?"

"Yeah, why not?" Yannick answered. "This way you can spy on their tactics as much as you want as you have the perfect alibi," he added with a grin, before running towards the Entrance Hall's doors.

"Why you..." Sean exclaimed, trying to catch his friend. "Get back here!" he said, running after Yannick who was sprinting in direction of the pitch.

The two friends continued their game while on their way there, Sean sending snowballs flying in Yannick's direction, who deflected them with a shield charm while sending his own back.

Halfway to the pitch, Yannick suddenly felt observed. Puzzled he turned on himself to pinpoint the feeling and saw a dark shape at the edge of the forest. That moment of distraction caused him to be taken off-guard by one of Sean's snowball that hit him on the head and obscured his vision for a few second. When he got the snow off and looked at the forest again, the shape had disappeared.

"You okay mate?" Sean asked, joining him. "I did not intend to hit you in the head. I thought you would deflect it like the others." he added.

"Not a problem, Sean," Yannick answered. "I just felt like something was observing me from the forest," he added.

"Well this forest is creepy if you go there without Hagrid," Sean said.

"Yeah," Yannick agreed. "But it is not the fist time this happens," he added.

"Mate, there are a lot of different creatures, both good and evil in this forest," Sean said. "No wonder it is out of bound for the students. Must have been a werewolf or something of the sort. They never venture out of the forest, anyway," he added, patting Yannick reassuringly on the back.

"Yeah, you are probably right," he said.

"Come on. Let's not keep the girls waiting, then," Sean said before heading towards the pitch.

At the edge of the forbidden forest, a dark shape was resting its back on a tree sitting in the snow covered roots. A hood hid its features but one could see strands of white hair coming out of it. Its hands, grayish and slender were joined in a fist, the right forefinger tapping on the left hand.

Andrelith was thinking.

So the young one could tell if one observed him... fair enough. This had to be foreseen, after all, despite his despicable weak human blood, he still had some Elven one in him. But he was still weak, as all humans were. He would not be an obstacle to achieve his revenge on the traitress, the one who, with her father, had denied him the power that was rightfully his.

The abomination of her union with that weakling of a human, that family, would be eradicated. It might take time, but time he had and in the end the power that was his destiny would be his to control at last. His kind was made to rule over the others on this planet, not aid them. They had the power to travel in space to other planets, they mastered life itself and nothing could rival with them in power. Yes, they were destined to rule, not to serve.

The question was how to lure the young weakling out of the protective walls of Hogwarts. Andrelith was powerful, but he was not stupid. He knew well the power that ran in the castle and while the young one stayed there he would not be able to reach him. Avoiding the weakling's companion had been an easy task and the puny humans patrolling the woods were so blind they would not spot him if he was standing right in front of them.

Yes, capturing the young one would be an easy task if he ventured unguarded in the woods. The plan that he had spent so many years to design was coming nicely into place. The killing of the young one's friend had been the key to keep him from becoming too powerful. It had filled him with a fear that was cutting him from the others and preventing him from getting too many friends. True he had managed to get along with a few of them at Hogwarts, but none of them would be able to prevent the events that had been set in motion so long ago.

But a way to lure him out of the castle might present itself soon enough. The sudden activity in the human's law enforcement and the patrols in the woods showed that the one known as Voldemort was getting more powerful. The recent breakout of his followers from that excuse of a prison called Azkaban was the proof of that. And the target for this Voldemort also lived within the walls of Hogwarts. Yes... yes indeed. A way to lure him out would come soon enough, all he had to do was to wait and this Voldemort would present him with the perfect occasion to achieve his goal.

Then, he would capture the weakling and would finally get his hands on the power that was his by right.

Andrelith allowed himself a dark chuckle of satisfaction.

Yes... soon, soon his revenge would be complete.

---------

()"Rook takes pawn on A5" () Yannick said to his rook.

"At your command!!" the rook replied (Could also be translated to "Aye, aye Sir!")

"Pawn from C7 to C6."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Feelings**

"Curse it!" Yannick muttered as his arrow missed its mark yet again. This was the fourth time that he was trying to hit the arrow at the center of the target and this time he had only missed by mere inches. The arrows themselves were a fine set, a gift from Gran before he left. She had told him that they were Elven made and now he was truly appreciating the care that had been put in this set. With dark feathers and a shaft that was black with golden motifs, they were lighter than his former set but they flew with much more accuracy than his old ones.

"I only need to get used to them." he thought, taking aim once more. He released the arrow and saw it finally touching the end of the one on the target, before lodging itself a few centimeters above it. "Yes!" he said, brandishing his fist in the air. A lupine yawn on his left caught his attention. He looked at Altair who was laying a few meters away from him.

"Oh... Am I boring you now?" he asked the wolf.

Altair looked at him with an expression that said much of his interest in archery.

"Well... I am sorry my friend but it is the first time since I am back that I can train with my new arrows and I do intend to make most of it." he replied.

The wolf rested his head on his paws and snorted as an answer. Yannick chuckled at his antics. Altair had wanted to run with him or play around but he had been quite intent on finally training on his archery skill again. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in February and the sun was shining in the bright blue sky. It was a wonder that the temperature was not colder but it also showed that winter was retreating slowly and giving way for spring to arrive.

Thinking of spring, he remembered why he had gone to train outside in the first place. Sean was constantly reminding him that Valentine's Day was this week and when he was not asking him for advice of what he should do with Cynthia, he was telling him that he should ask Alex out that day. It had been fine at first but soon his friend's behavior got on his nerves and he had escaped outside to exercise. He focused again on the target he had placed under the tree and took aim with his bow. He released the arrow and it hit the target, just under the center.

Altair uttered a low growl, intended only for him to hear. Yannick smiled.

"Did you really expect to be able to sneak behind me?" he asked.

He heard frustrated groans and turned around to face his friends.

"How the hex did you even know we were there?" Sean asked with a scowl on his face.

"Well Sean," Yannick replied, "If you really want to sneak behind someone, try to pay attention where the wind is heading, in this case it was coming from behind you." he added.

"Darn!" his friend said.

"So you smelled us?" Cynthia asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Me? Not at all." Yannick answered, "But Altair did, and he warned me." he added, pointing to the wolf that was looking at them.

Alex hit Sean in the arm. "I told you that would happen." she said.

"So, what are you doing Yannick?" Cynthia asked, changing the subject.

"Training." he replied, "Getting used to the new arrow set I got from my Gran over Christmas."

"Oh yeah!" Sean said, picking one of the arrows from the ground, "That is a nice set too! But where are the arrowheads?" he asked, looking at the blunt end.

"I took them off." Yannick replied, "That is the agreement I took with our headmaster. I can train, but without arrowheads. It does not make much difference actually. The metal is very light." he added.

"Can I see one of them?" Cynthia asked.

"Ah... No... Sorry." Yannick said, "I... left them in my room." he added.

"Oh... pity." she replied.

"So, are you getting the feel of them yet?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. They are lighter than my old set." he said, "They fly better too."

"But you need more training with them, mate." Sean said, "You were not that fast when I looked at you shooting them."

"Speed was not really what I was trying to achieve, Sean." Yannick replied with a smile, "I was more looking into accuracy."

"By hitting the big target under the tree?" Sean asked.

"That is not the real target." Yannick replied, "I am aiming for the arrow at the center."

"Oh... wow." Sean said, "Trying to become Robin Hood, heh?" he added with a grin.

"Shut up." Yannick replied, pushing him on the shoulder. "So where are you three headed to?" he asked, changing the subject.

"To the Quidditch pitch, so Alex can pick up some equipment." Cynthia said, "Then we were planning to walk a bit on the grounds. Want to join us?" she asked.

"No, not really," he replied, "I still want to train a bit."

"Can Altair join us then?" Alex asked.

"I am the wrong one to ask, Alex." Yannick replied, "I do not own him. He chooses where he goes and I have nothing to say in it." he added, nodding to the wolf.

Alex turned to Altair. "What do you say?" she asked the wolf, "Want to join us?"

Altair looked at her and then at Yannick, as if pondering his options. He then stood up and trotted to Alex, nuzzling her left palm when he came by her.

"I'll take this as a yes." she said, petting the wolf on the head.

"Well, Yannick," Sean said, "I guess that means that you'll be all alone then."

"I don't really mind actually." Yannick replied, "Altair kept kind of reminding me that he found my archery training boring." he added, giving the wolf a false glare. Altair looked at him innocently.

"Alright," Sean said, "See you later then."

Yannick looked at them head towards the Quidditch pitch. "You could have gone with them and have a good time, you idiot." he told himself. But he knew the real reason why he had refused, he had to train. Now that he knew of Andrelith he was trying to spend as much time as he could perfecting his skills and learning more Elven incantations, not that he had mastered many so far. Anything he could learn would make him more able to face his family's nemesis when the time came.

"Was that him when I felt observed a few weeks ago?" he asked himself. That was the last time he had felt observed from the forest... Did that mean that Andrelith was not around for now?

Yannick shook his head and focused again on the target, taking aim with his bow. This time he took care that nobody was in the way as students had started to come out onto the grounds. There was not much danger though as the spot he had chosen was not a place where students went around. It was away from the lake and to the taste of some, too near the forbidden forest. He released the arrow and saw it hit the target, too much on the left. He took his wand out and summoned the arrows back to him. Practice was still needed.

He continued his training for some time and was surprised at one point to see that he had two observers, a boy and a girl. They seemed to be fourth years. He smiled when he saw that they just stayed back and just looked, apparently not wanting to disturb him.

"You can come closer you know," he said while releasing another arrow, "It does not bother me to have people looking." he added, looking in their direction.

"We were not sure." the girl said.

"When you train with a teacher that constantly tells you if your last shot was good or bad and what you can do to improve, you learn to not mind people looking." he replied, drawing the bow again and sending the arrow to hit the target in its center.

"Nice shot." the boy commented.

"Thank you," Yannick said, "I am Yannick Silverleaf, by the way." he added, realizing that he did not know who his two onlookers were.

The girl must have realized that because she was the first to reply. "I'm Shannon Weller and this is Alec Ramsay." she said, "We're both in Gryffindor." she added.

"Nice to meet you." Yannick said, "You two are in fourth year, right?"

"Yeah." Alec replied, "I have one question though. How come you are learning to shoot with a bow? I mean wizards don't use them and even Muggles now only use them for competitions... you know games." he asked.

Yannick smiled at the question. "Well, it is kind of a family tradition," he replied, "I started to learn from my father when I was five and I continued in my French school. The saying that goes in my family is that it is dangerous to rely solely on one's wand." He sent another arrow to hit the center of the target. "It is not really that hard, you know." he said to Alec, who had let out a whistle of appreciation. "You want to try?" he asked the him.

"I am sure I would not even be able to hit the tree," Alec replied, "With a bit of luck, maybe the arrow would go hit Conway in the butt." he added with a grin.

"Better yet," Shannon said, mirroring his grin, "in Calloway's."

Yannick let out a chuckle. He did not know who Conway and Calloway were but they did not rank high in the esteem of the two Gryffindors. "So," he asked Alec, "You want to try?"

"Yeah, why not." Alec replied.

"Then you will need to put this on." he said, taking off his arm-guard and handing it to Alec.

"Why do I need this?"

"Trust me," Yannick said, "You do not want to have the bowstring scraping on your arm."

"Oh..." Alec said, taking it and putting it on.

Yannick handed him the bow and Alec tried it, pulling the string as if preparing to shoot an arrow while moving onto the spot Yannick had been shooting from.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, "This bow seems easy to bend."

"It's because of the wood it uses." Yannick explained, "Makes it easy to bend but it is still a powerful bow and can hit a target twice as far as the target over there."

"Woah! I see."

Yannick handed him an arrow and Alec took aim. He held it for some seconds and then released the arrow, which traveled half the way to the target before hitting the ground.

"Not bad for a first try," Yannick said, smiling. "But you are aiming wrong, straight at the target. Your arrow will very seldom fly straight, taking in account wind and gravity. This means that you kind of have to aim high, compensate for that." he added, getting Alec to raise the bow a bit higher.

The young Gryffindor let another arrow fly which this time just hit the target on its left. Shannon cheered and Alec looked very pleased with himself. Yannick smiled and told him to try again. The training continued for some time, Alec improving his aim with the time that passed.

"Yannick Silverleaf teaching archery to another student." Alex's voice said behind them at one point, "Now there's a sight you do not see everyday." she added, reaching them.

"Miracles happen." Yannick replied, "Where are the other?" he asked.

"Well, after we got my stuff we walked around the grounds but I picked up that Sean and Cynthia wanted to be alone, so I came back here with Altair." she replied, sitting down near them with Altair at her side.

After a short explanation to the two Gryffindor that Altair was not dangerous and that he would not harm them, the training resumed, only to be interrupted a short time after by a haughty voice.

"Well look at that, the Frenchie is playing nanny for the Gryffindors."

"Go away Malfoy." Yannick said without turning around.

"No," Malfoy replied, "I think I will stay here and enjoy seeing you ridicule yourself in trying to teach a thickhead Gryffindor a dead useless art."

"I don't think it is useless" Alec replied, picking another arrow.

"Really? Then you are more stupid than I thought" Malfoy replied, causing the other Slytherins that were with him to snigger. "Even Muggles do not use it anymore. It is archaic." he added with a smirk on his face.

"And since when did you become such expert on Muggles, Malfoy?" Alex asked, standing up.

"No need to be an expert to know that, Mudblood." Malfoy replied.

"That's enough Malfoy," Yannick said, looking dangerously at the Slytherin. "I already warned you on what would happen if you continued harassing my friends and I. I suggest you do not push your luck." he added.

"Empty threats!" Malfoy replied, "You would never be able to actually do it."

"Don't try me, Malfoy." Yannick said, "Now unless you have anything intelligent to say, I suggest you shut up and leave us alone. Go ahead Alec, continue." he added, turning around.

Yannick looked at Alec taking aim but suddenly heard the swish of a wand and an incantation being muttered. He wheeled around his right hand instinctively drawing out his wand from its sheath. A red hex narrowly missed him and hit Alec in the back sending him on the floor and causing him to release his arrow. It went speeding in the direction of a group of student that was coming back from the lake.

"Oh my God! Alec!" he heard Shannon shout.

Time seemed to slow for Yannick and he waved his wand towards the arrow, summoning it. He succeeded and the arrow turned to come back to him. A flash of metal on it told him that something was wrong, the arrow had a metallic point. He put his wand and left hand in front of him and tried to feel for the arrow that was coming back, in order to will the arrowhead back into the wood.

He felt the wood in the oncoming arrow and the magic in it as well. He started to will the arrowhead back into the wood... but something went wrong. Instead this the arrow exploded in a flash of light. Yannick felt something piercing his left hand and, falling down to his knees from the pain saw that the arrowhead was in it. He let out a scream of pain and held his injured hand. His vision blurred from the tears that started to fill his eyes.

"Yannick?" he heard Alex say, her hands grabbing his shoulders, "Are you okay? Oh no... How could this happen?"

"How stupid can one get?" he heard Malfoy say, "Summoning back an arrow?"

"Last time I checked, Malfoy," Alex shouted back, "That arrow had no metal point. Besides, all this would have been avoided, had you not tried to hex him."

"You should not make accusations you can't prove, Mudblood." Malfoy countered.

"She does not need proof. I saw you cast the hex." Shannon said.

Yannick still had problems to see what exactly was happening around him but he could make out that Alex and Shannon had their wands out... and so did the Slytherins. He heard a low growl and turning his head, saw a dark shape readying for a leap.

"Altair non!" he croaked in French. "Tu restes où tu es." () he commanded the wolf.

"Yeah, good doggie. Do as master say." Malfoy said, causing the Slytherins to laugh.

"Malfoy, shut your trap!" Alex shouted, "Or I'll do it for you."

"Oh yeah, Mudblood?" Malfoy shot back, "And how are you going to do that? Hex me?" he added.

"Like this!" Alex said. Yannick heard her swing her beater club and Malfoy shouting in pain as the hit connected to his face.

"You filthy Mudblood!" one of the Slytherins said, "You'll pay for this."

"ENOUGH!!!" A voice shouted, causing all the students to jump. "ACCIO WANDS!"

All the wands got snatched from the students' hands and came to rest at the feet of Professor Lupin. He stood there, his wand out, looking positively angry. He bent down and picked the wands off the ground, placing them in his pocket. "Your wands will be given back to you when I have sorted out who did what in this little mess." he said, looking at the group.

"Get this adder to the Hospital wing." he continued, turning to the Slytherins and pointing at Malfoy, "As soon as Madam Pomfrey is done with him, I want to see him in my office. Now move out." he added, causing the Slytherins to leave in a hurry.

He walked over to Alec, who was still on the ground, stunned. "Enervate." he said, waving his wand towards him. "How are you feeling Mr. Ramsay?" he asked the Gryffindor.

"I am feeling fine, Sir." Alec replied, groggily, "But I would love to know what happened." he added.

"I am sure Miss Weller will be more than glad to fill you in on the details." Professor Lupin said, before turning to Yannick. "Are you alright Mr. Silverleaf? Can you walk?"

"I guess so, Sir," Yannick said, getting on his feet clumsily. He stumbled and would have fallen back on the ground if Alex had not prevented him.

"Miss Dewitt, please go with him to the Hospital wing." Professor Lupin told her, "I will be there shortly myself, as soon as I get Miss Weller's side of the incident."

"What I am trying to understand Mr. Silverleaf," Dumbledore said, "Is that how come this arrow contained a metallic point, when I had specifically told you to take them off when you trained."

Yannick looked at the Headmaster, not really knowing what to do. He was now in Dumbledore's office together with Professor Lupin and Professor Snape, who had come to Dumbledore's request. Both Malfoy and Alex had been in the office previously and while Malfoy had escaped with a detention, Alex had gotten that and lost ten points for the Ravenclaw house. And now he found himself facing his Headmaster and two teachers, having to explain why an arrow that was without arrowhead when it had been picked up by Alec Ramsay, suddenly had one, had exploded in flight and sent that arrowhead into his hand.

He winced at the memory of the too recent accident and clenched his bandaged left hand. What should he do? Reveal that those were Elven arrows? If he did, they would ask him why he had them. Would he have to reveal his Elven background as well? The fact that the spells he had been practicing alone were Elven ones? That his Gran was an Elf and over two millennia old? Would they even believe him? He groaned internally. He was in deep trouble and all that because that stupid git Malfoy had tried to hex him from behind with a Stunning spell.

"Well Mr. Silverleaf?" Dumbledore asked again, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Well..." Yannick started, scratching the back of his head, "It is kind of complicated, Sir."

"I can believe it is," Dumbledore replied, taking one of the arrows in his hand, "This set is different from your first one, am I mistaken?" he asked.

"No Sir, you are not." Yannick answered, "The set was a gift from my Gran at this Christmas."

"And you are certain that the arrows did not have any arrowheads when you were training today?"

"Yes Sir."

"If I may Albus, I have also five different students who said that Mr. Silverleaf was training without arrowheads on his arrows this afternoon," Professor Lupin said, "And this included the person who let the arrow go, Mr. Ramsay. He is quite adamant that the arrow had no metal point when he picked it up." he added.

"Thank you Remus." Dumbledore said, "I also see that this arrow and all the arrows in your archery bag are devoid of arrowheads as well. The question is, how did the one of the accident get one?"

Yannick pondered his options. He doubted that he could hide his Elven background very long with Dumbledore questioning him.

"Well Sir," he started, "These are not normal arrows. They are magical ones." he added, quickly.

Dumbledore was looking at him, as if waiting for more.

"They are without an arrowhead until the proper spell is cast on them." he continued.

"I do not understand myself how this arrow suddenly got an arrowhead."

"What kind of incantation do you use?" Dumbledore asked, "I have never heard of such arrows myself."

"These arrows were not made by wizards, Sir." Yannick replied, "They were made by Elven smiths." he added.

"So the incantation that would be used would also be and Elven incantation," Dumbledore said, "Am I correct?"

"Yes Sir."

"This is impossible." Snape said, "It takes a very powerful wizard to master Elven magic. No youth could do it." he added, looking at Yannick disdainfully.

"With all your respect Sir," Yannick told him, "That is not quite correct. The ones able to use Elven incantations have to be of Elven descent." he said.

"And this would mean that you are of Elven descent yourself?" Snape asked.

"Yes Sir." Yannick replied after a moment of hesitation.

"This is preposterous!" Snape said. "You are just trying to worm yourself out of trouble Mr. Silverleaf. You are no more of Elven descent than I am descended of Merlin." he added with a sneer.

"Then I won't take any bet of this kind regarding your birth, Severus." Professor Lupin said with a little smile, causing Snape to pale slightly.

Yannick felt shocked by the Potion Master's statement and angry at the same time. Professor Snape was clearly trying to blame him for the mistake and trying to get Malfoy out of trouble. He looked at Dumbledore and Professor Lupin.

"Permission to use my wand Sir?" he asked the headmaster.

"As long as it is not to hex anyone." Dumbledore replied.

Yannick took out his wand and grabbed an arrow from the ones that were on the headmaster's desk. He hesitated a bit, what he was about to do would show his family background.

"_Hosta pilin'_," () he said, pointing his wand to the arrow. A small red ball shot out of it and hit the arrow in its center, causing it to glow brightly red. When it dimmed again, it had a gleaming arrowhead on its tip. He handed the arrow to the headmaster. Professor Snape was looking at Yannick with a look of disbelief. Professor Lupin on the other hand had a little smile.

"Impressive Mr. Silverleaf," Dumbledore said after having examined the arrow, "And clearly an Elven incantation, unless my hearing is deceiving me. Do you also know how to take it off?" he added, handing the arrow back to Yannick.

"Yes Sir," Yannick said, "_Lietha guldur_." () he added, pointing his wand to the arrow again. The arrowhead disappeared in a little sparkling explosion. Then something dawned on him. The spell was red, so was the Stupefy hex. Could it be that it caused the same reaction?

"Yes, Mr. Silverleaf?" Dumbledore asked, as if reading his thoughts.

"I was just thinking Sir," Yannick said, "The effect Elven incantation has the same color than that of the Stupefy hex. I was wondering that maybe the arrow got its metallic point from part of the hex that Alec received." he added.

"That would make sense." Professor Lupin said.

"Yes it would seem so," Dumbledore agreed, "Very well Mr Silverleaf, I am accepting this reason. I trust you will not see any reasons against Professor Lupin retaining your archery set for a few days to try your theory out."

"None at all, Sir." Yannick said.

"Very good, Mr. Silverleaf. Well Severus," Dumbledore said, looking at the Potion Master, "I do believe that Mr. Malfoy's detention is justified. Had he not cast that Stunning spell, none of this accident would have happened. He should be grateful that points are not taken from his house for what he did. That will be all." he added.

Professor Snape nodded and left quickly out of the office. Yannick stayed where he was, not knowing if he could go out as well.

"I do have one more question for you Yannick," Dumbledore said,

"Yes Sir?"

"You were reported as practicing spell work in empty classrooms," Dumbledore said, "And you told to Professor Lupin that they were kind of 'exotic'. Would they happen to be Elven spells?"

Yannick gave a small smile. "Yes Sir, they were," he replied, "None of them were dangerous ones. I steered clear from those." he added quickly.

"I am sure," Dumbledore replied, "But I have not been afraid of that. I received a letter from your relative, letting me know of the fact that this might happen. She said in her letter that the book did not contain any forbidden spells, although I would have been surprised if she had given you access to those." he added with a smile.

Yannick was stunned. "Gran wrote to you?"

"Of course," Dumbledore replied, "Gwenaëlle was the first person to contact me regarding your transfer to Hogwarts. But that is not from where I know her."

"I had no idea you knew her Sir."

"I think you are aware that Professor Lupin is a werewolf, are you not?"

Yannick nodded.

"The fact that this happened in his youth created a problem in regards to his education as a wizard. No school wanted of a student that could be dangerous to their pupils," Dumbledore said, "I agreed to take on Lupin as a student in Hogwarts and made arrangements so he would be able to transform each full moon in isolation, without being a danger to the Hogwarts students. In order to prevent anyone from entering the place where he would be during those times, I contacted some friends of mine to ask them for help. They referred me to Gwenaëlle. She understood the situation and arranged for exactly what was needed, the Whomping Willow."

"Gran gave the Whomping Willow?" Yannick asked in amazement, "Wow."

"I have no clue where she found it and I know it is the only specimen known in the wizard world," Dumbledore continued, "But after this I got to know your relative better and this is why I was not worried from the reports of you practicing spells." he added with a smile.

"I did not really want to attract attention Sir." Yannick said.

"That is understandable Yannick and I will not prevent you from practicing more on them," Dumbledore said, "Gwenaëlle did stress that it was important that you did train on them. Although she did not really explain why, I trust her judgment."

"Thank you Sir." Yannick said, "I would like to know, though. Is there a place I could practice without attracting attention?"

Dumbledore thought for a while. "The only place I can think of right now is being used by a group of student quite regularly and so it could prove problematic." he said after a while.

"He could train in my classroom, Albus," Lupin proposed. "I could supervise him from time to time as well."

"I was hopping you would suggest that, Remus." Dumbledore replied with a smile, "What do you think Yannick?"

"I think it could work perfectly Sir," he replied, "Thank you very much Professor." he added to Lupin.

"Do not mention it Yannick," Lupin said, "Defense Against the Dark Arts is what I teach here. Besides, I always was interested to see how Elven magic worked." he added with a smile.

"I believe that settles all of the questions then?" Dumbledore asked to Yannick.

"Yes Sir, it does."

"Very well. Professor Lupin will let you know when you can start." Dumbledore said, "You can leave to join your housemates for the dinner." he added.

"Thank you Sir." Yannick replied before going out of the headmaster's office.

Later in the evening, Yannick was looking at the cloudless night sky from where he stood on the astronomy tower. He had been there since he had left from Dumbledore's office, thinking. He had not gone to dinner, not feeling hungry and not really wanting to have to answer the questions that others might ask him on the accident. While he was looking at the Big Dipper, he saw what Elves called a 'moving star'. He followed it until it disappeared on the horizon. He never fully understood why Muggles felt this urge to add stars in the sky. There were already so many of them. His uncle Yves had told him that Muggles used these 'satellites' for many different things, one of them being for communications. Yannick had stopped trying to understand and now just followed them in the sky when he spotted one.

He thought again of the incident with the arrow. Something had gone wrong with it when he had tried to use his tree-shaping gift to get the metal bit back into the wood. He rubbed his bandaged hand on the spot the arrowhead had hit and tried to understand what could have caused the arrow to react that way.

A howl from the forbidden forest snapped him out of his thoughts. Altair was worried and was calling him. Apparently no one had told him that he was fine.

Yannick tilted his head and let out a howl that told the wolf he had heard him.

"Where are you? How are you?" the wolf howled back.

"Astronomy tower. I am fine," he howled in answer.

Altair did not reply immediately but then howled a single question, "sad?"

Yannick smiled. Even in a howl, Altair was still able to detect his mood. "Not really, just thinking," he howled back, "Anything to report?" he asked.

"No dark man in forest today," Altair howled back, "Going hunting now."

"Good hunt my friend and thanks," Yannick howled to the wolf.

He stood there, looking in the direction from where the last howl had come from Altair. After a minute he heard the wolf howl once more. The hunt was on.

"Are you sure you are not part werewolf?" a voice asked behind him.

He turned around to face Alex, who was standing in the doorway that led to the tower's staircase. The lack of light made it hard to see her.

"I did not realize you were here," he said, "And I am certain that I am not part werewolf." he added.

"Howling in the night like this might make people wonder," she said, walking to him, "You were actually speaking to Altair?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered, "part of my bond with him makes that I understand him." he added.

"He almost jumped on Malfoy today," Alex said, "It was a good thing that you stopped him." she added.

"He gets very protective if I am hurt." he answered.

"I know, your aunt told me," Alex said. "How is your hand?" she asked, taking his left hand.

"Madam Pomfrey fixed the wound and put a bandage on in case it opens with my movements."

Alex looked closer to the hand, trying to see it better despite the lack of light. Yannick smiled internally and took out his wand. "_Me'a morgil_" he said, creating a sphere of light.

Alex recoiled a bit, looking at the sphere, but did not let go of his hand.

"That... that was..." she stuttered.

"That was an Elven spell, yes," he finished for her.

"Wow," she just said.

"I've been practicing this one since I came back," he continued, "you can touch it with your hand or make it stick on you wand or other objects," he added, taking the sphere in his hand and making it stick on one of the metal torch holder that was near. He turned around and was taken aback to see the expression on her face. She looked close to tears and was biting her lower lip nervously.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She did not answer but instead suddenly went close to him and hugged him, burying her head on his shoulder. Yannick was taken aback by the fierceness of the hug but then returned it. He felt her crying and gently rocked her trying his best to sooth her, but still feeling uneasy.

"I was so afraid," she said, her head still on his shoulder. "I never heard you screaming like that. And Malfoy... standing there with his cronies... gloating on your pain..." she continued.

"It's okay," he said gently, "I'm fine. Malfoy is a git and we both know that," he added, stroking her hair.

"Did you get in trouble?" she asked faintly, "From what I did?"

"No, of course not," he answered, "Why would I get in trouble for that?"

"I never reacted so harshly," she said looking at him, "It is just that he did something so wrong... and then had the guts of saying he had not done anything..."

"Alex," Yannick said, putting a finger on her mouth to silence her, "You did nothing wrong. Malfoy was found to have made the mistake and his detention is upheld. You'll have to do yours too but Professor Dumbledore was more angry about Malfoy's lack of wits than from your reaction," he added.

"I am so glad you're okay," she said, smiling slightly and looking at him in the eyes. He mirrored her smile. They stood there, still hugging and looking at each other, not saying anything, as if they could read each others thoughts. After a minute, Alex surprised him again by kissing him suddenly. Yannick felt a shiver go down his spine and after a little hesitation, gave into the kiss, holding her more tightly.

"You have no idea how long I wanted to do that," Alex said when they broke the kiss.

"But you did not do it until now," Yannick replied, smiling at her.

"No, because I was afraid to scare you off," she said.

"That was before..." he started.

"I know," she said, "It only took me a while to realize that. When I first met you I did not know what to think. You were nice, friendly, handsome... Don't you dare deny that Yannick, you are handsome," she chided when he blushed at the compliment.

"Then you confessed to me your loss of Gwen and I was moved," she continued, "You opened up and I understood why you had been so distant."

"I had never really told anyone about it," he said, "Apart from my family that is," he added.

"I know," she said, "and that is why I did not move. You had opened a little but I did not want to scare you back into your mask."

"The mask is gone now," he told her, his eyes looking serious.

"I realized that when we were at your house," she said, "After a talk with your Aunt Rozenn. But even after that I was not sure what to do."

"What decided you?" he asked her gently.

"When I did not see you at dinner," she answered, "I was already quite upset with my reaction. I was telling myself that you would get into trouble and that you might be expelled and I did not want that. I did not want to lose you. I love you Yannick," she finished, blushing and looking down.

Yannick raised her chin with his hand gently until she met his eyes again.

"_Amin mela lle vithel_, Alex," he said.

"What does that mean?" she asked, smiling.

"I love you too, Alex," he answered, pulling her to him for a kiss.

A howl from the forbidden forest caused them to part the kiss after a bit.

"He wants to know if I am still there." Yannick said.

"Answer him," Alex told him.

Yannick let out a howl to let Altair know that he was. An interrogative howl answered him back. "He is asking if I am still alone," he translated.

"Tell him the truth then," she said, giving him a light kiss on the lips.

Yannick let out a long howl. Some time passed and Altair answered him, causing him to burst into laugher.

"What?" Alex asked, "What did he say?"

"Well..." Yannick said catching his breath, "I guess you could translate it into 'about time'," he said before laughing again, Alex joining him.

"I guess he knew it since the start," she said after a while.

"You should have seen the look he gave me when I left you the day we met," he said, "It was like he was reading my mind."

"Oooh, Mr. Silverleaf," she teased, "Were you having naughty ideas?"

"Maybe," he answered, "But I wont let these get in between us now." he replied pulling her closer for another kiss.

"I assure you they won't," she said before their lips met.

They stayed on the top of the tower for a while, together and enjoying every moment of it.

"You have anything planned for the evening?" he asked her at one point.

"I was supposed to help some friends on some homework," she answered, "But that can definitely wait." she said, nestling comfortably on him.

"What will your friends say when they find out you were actually snogging with a Hufflepuff?" he teased.

"They'll say that I have good taste in boys," she answered, before kissing him.

---------

() "Altair no!" he croaked in French. "Stay were you are." he commanded the wolf.

() _hosta pilin'(ea)_ Assemble arrow(s)

() _Lietha guldur_ Dispel Magic spell


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: New Blood**

"Expelliarmus!!" a voice shouted.

"_Tinechor_!" Yannick countered. He felt the spell hit him, his wand leaving his hand and fell back on the floor. His defensive shield spell had not worked... again. He looked at the ceiling of the Defence against Dark Arts classroom and let out a sigh. It was now a bit less than a month that he had had his accident and that Professor Lupin had agreed to help him on his Elven spell work, but right now it was not going well.

"Come on Yannick," the voice said, "Stop being a baby and get up," the voice added laughing a little.

He reluctantly stood up and looked at Alex who was standing a few meters away from him, toying with his wand, a grin across her face.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked, sullenly.

"Being able to send spells at one's boyfriend, without risking to endanger a relationship?" she asked, "Who wouldn't?" she answered, smiling slyly and winking at him.

Professor Lupin's suppressed laugh caught their attention. "Alright Alexandra," Lupin said, shaking his head, "Give the poor lad his wand back so he can try again."

Alex tossed Yannick his wand.

"Now Yannick," Lupin said, "You remember the moves you have to make?"

"Yes Sir," he answered, "It is just that I can't seem to get it to work though. Maybe I am not strong enough to do it," he added

"I don't think that is the reason Yannick," Lupin said, "Elven magic is apparently more primal than human one. This is the reason only very powerful wizards can master it. You have already done a good job in mastering the few you know now and you are able to conjure the shield when not under attack. Not many could have done so, you know," he added.

"I guess you are right, Sir," Yannick said.

"Alright, let's give it another try," Lupin said, "Cast when you want, Alexandra."

Yannick looked at Alex who was eyeing him. She seemed to be waiting for him to do a move. They had been training on this new Elven shield spell for the past hour now and he still had problems to conjure it when under stress. Add to this that he was being thrown to the floor by Alex's spells, he was starting to feel a bit annoyed. Not at her though, he was very grateful that she had agreed to help him when he had asked her, but more at his inability to master the spell. Knowing that Elven spells were stronger than normal ones, he was not sure that a simple shielding charm would be enough to protect him against Andrelith's attacks. Alex changing her stance brought him out of his thought, she was about to cast a spell.

"Expelliarmus!" she shouted, slashing her wand and sending a disarming spell in his direction.

"_Tinechor_!" he shouted back, waving his wand in an upward motion towards the oncoming spell. As he did this, his wand traced a blue line that expanded into a small wall, in the path of the oncoming spell. The disarming charm hit the shield creating a bright light that caused him to shield his face with his arm.

"Whoa!" he said, lowering his arm as the light dimmed.

"You can say that again," Alex commented from where she stood, "Was that the normal reaction?" she asked.

"I don't think so," Yannick answered, "Sir?" he asked looking at Lupin.

"I do no think it was the normal reaction either," the latter said, "unfortunately I am not too experienced in exactly how this Elven charm is supposed to react, but it does say in your book hat it is supposed to block one or more spells." he added, looking at the spell book he was holding in his hands.

"Not stable enough, maybe?" Yannick ventured.

"That could very well be," Lupin said, "Especially when you take in account that you just were having troubles to master the spell under attack."

"Well it is always better than having been thrown to the floor again," Alex said, "Don't you agree, Nick?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he answered, "most definitely. But I still don't really master it." he added,

"But Alexandra is right, Yannick," Lupin said, "You are making progress. You are more able to control Elven spells than when we started a month ago. You have proven to be a fast student and I am sure you will be able to master this spell soon."

"Thank you for your confidence, Sir," Yannick said, smiling.

"You are welcome," Lupin said, "Now, it is soon curfew time so it would be best that you bring your lady home and head for your common room to be fresh for class tomorrow." he added with a smile.

Both Yannick and Alex smiled shyly back at their professor.

"Come on you two, get out of here," he said, "I'll let you know if I find anything interesting from reading the spell book, Yannick."

"Thank you, Sir." Yannick said, before being tugged out from the room by Alex.

"Did you manage to finish the essay for potions that we got from Snape last time?" Sean asked Yannick as they entered the Great Hall a few days after.

"Yeah," Yannick answered, "Was not an easy task though. I really wonder why he keeps on giving near impossible assignments at every class. Does he want us to fail?"

"With Snape, who knows?" Sean said as they settled down at their usual seat at the Hufflepuff table, "I personally heard that he is this way with all the classes, except with Slytherin."

"No kidding!" Yannick said, taking some toasts and jam, "I really wonder why?" he added sarcastically.

"I think it is something to do with him being their head of house," Sean said on the same tone.

"At least I'm not that bad at potions anymore," Yannick said.

"Right," Sean said, "Alex helping has a lot to do in it if you ask me," he added, winking at his friend.

"And I help her back on her herbology," Yannick said.

"You really have a knack for that subject," Sean said,

"I am okay, I guess," Yannick replied.

"Oh come on, Yannick!" Sean said, "You are more than okay. You are top of the class on that subject and close to top of the year."

"I guess that living near an enchanted forest has its advantages," Yannick said.

"Tell me about it," Sean said, starting to eat his breakfast.

Yannick thought about what his friend had pointed out regarding his skill at herbology. He was aware that his skill at it had quite improved since his gift had awakened but he was trying his best not to use it. One reason was that he did not feel it was fair to use his gift in lessons and tests where others did not have the same ability, the second reason was that he did not want to attract attention to his family and its Elven heritage.

He was interrupted in his thoughts by the sounds of the owls coming to deliver the mail in the Great Hall. Not expecting anything as he had received a letter from his mother just a few days ago, he did not bother to look up and continued to eat. A sudden shriek from above made him look up. Turning in a circle with its wings outstretched, a falcon was in the Great Hall. Yannick took a pan of his cloak and made a bundle with it around his left fist. He then let out a sharp two note whistle while holding his hand up.

"You know that bird?" Sean asked.

"Yeah," Yannick answered, while looking at the falcon coming down to him.

"You do not seem that glad to see him," Sean pointed out.

"Well," Yannick started, "Horus is the familiar of my Aunt she only uses him to deliver mail in case of extreme urgencies. So I am a bit dreading what news he brings," he added, as the falcon landed on his fist.

"Oh, I see," Sean answered.

"Hello Horus," he said, giving the black and white falcon a piece of bacon and taking the letter that was attached to its leg. He petted the falcon who started to nip his fingers affectionately.

"Good news?" he asked the bird, who responded by what seemed as an affirmative cry.

At this Yannick felt the apprehension leave him and he sat down, putting Horus on the table. He opened the blue envelope and unfolded the parchment that was inside. He felt a warm feeling go through him as he read the lines:

_Dearest Yannick,_

_I write this quick note to let you know that as of late evening yesterday, our family has welcomed a new member, Loïc. I am enclosing the photo your father took of us with him._

_Love, Rozenn_

He took the wizard photo out of the envelope. There he could see Rozenn in a bed with Loïc and Alwena sitting at her side. All three were positively beaming and his aunt was holding his newest cousin in her arms. The baby was sleeping and seemed oblivious to the fact that activity was happening near him.

"Well, I can tell the news is good from the smile on your face," Sean said, grinning.

Yannick handed him the letter. The young Irishman read it and his smile widened.

"Congratulations, mate!" he said, patting Yannick on the back, "Guess you will meet him in the summer." he added.

"I can't wait," Yannick replied. He looked through his bag and took out a quill and a piece of parchment. "I need to reply to congratulate them," he added before settling down to write.

_Dear Rozenn, Yves and Alwena,_

_Congratulations!! This is great news and I am very happy for you three (or you four now). I can't wait for the summer break to arrive so I can meet my newest cousin._

_Welcome to the Silverleaf family and to life, Loïc. You will see that it is worth being born for._

_Lots of Love, Yannick._

As he wrote these lines they were joined by Cynthia and Alex who both were thrilled by the news.

"He looks like a little angel," Cynthia said, looking at the picture.

"I hope he does not take from his sister," Alex said, "Else you will have two devils to cope with." she added to Yannick, winking at him.

"I hope so too," Yannick said, "But then, both Uncle Yves and Aunt Rozenn like to tease, and I am afraid that Alwena takes from both." he added, folding the letter and attaching it to Horus' leg. The falcon let out a cry and departed from the hall.

"It's in the genes," Alex said.

"The what?" Yannick and Cynthia asked at the same time, causing Sean and Alex to laugh.

"The genes," Sean said, "it's a Muggle concept where they say that the children inherit of the characteristics of their parents." he added.

"Oh, I see," Yannick said, "Like blood heritage for wizards."

"Exactly." Sean said.

So you mean that it is because of your Irish genes that you are an insufferable git sometimes?" Cynthia asked him, teasingly.

"Yes," Sean replied smiling and passing his arm over her shoulder, "but I know you like it that way," he added, kissing her on the cheek.

"Not fair, O'Maley," she complained, "You cannot be teased anymore,"

"You have too good an influence on me," Sean replied, smiling even more.

"Nicely said," Alex complimented.

"Yup," Yannick said, standing up and grabbing his bag, "Okay, Casanova. Time to leave your lady if you do not want to be late for class." he added, grabbing his friend by the shoulder.

"Who do you guys have?" Alex asked.

"Snape," both boys replied on a mournful tone.

"Ouch!" Cynthia said, "Bad way to start a day."

"Tell me about it," Sean said, standing up, "I hope he does not give us a test again." he added.

"I would not put it past him," Yannick replied.

"Well, see you both at lunch, then," Alex said, "we have Charms this morning, double lesson."

"Definitely more pleasant than Potions," Yannick said, kissing her on the cheek, "See you at lunch," he added, before going out of the Great Hall with Sean.

Late afternoon that same day, Yannick was standing near the guardrail in the Quidditch stands, looking at the Ravenclaw team training. Hufflepuff had been beaten by them and Gryffindor and now only one match remained for all four teams. Hufflepuff was to face Slytherin, while Ravenclaw was to face Gryffindor in the end of April. That last match, the last one of the year, was usually one of the most contested of the year, the two teams having the two best seekers in the school.

The Ravenclaw captain was now running a drill where the seeker had to manage to catch the snitch, while evading the bludgers from her own beaters. Several shots passed close but she always managed to evade them, while keeping on the snitch's trail. After half an hour of intense training, the Ravenclaw captain blew the whistle, calling and end to the training session of the day. Alex came to hover near where Yannick was.

"How was it?" she asked.

"If you guys keep on like this, I would say that Gryffindor is in for a hard time," he replied, coming nearer.

She smiled at that and leaned closer to kiss him. Her move was greeted by whistle and cat calls from her team-mates that were on the pitch.

"Don't try to steal our beater, Silverleaf," they heard the keeper say.

"Come on Alex, you'll really need a shower to cool off now," the captain added laughing.

Yannick chuckled at the Ravenclaw team's teasing.

"Wait for me?" Alex asked him.

"You do not even need to ask," he whispered, kissing her.

She gave back the kiss and then joined her team-mates who were heading to the changing room.

While waiting for Alex to come back from there, and figuring he would have enough time, Yannick decided to try to feel the ivy that was climbing one of the wooden posts of the stand he was in. The plant was almost reaching the guardrail and through his gift, he could feel it trying to orient its leaves in the best way to catch the sunshine of the afternoon.

Closing his eyes, he tried to influence the plant without touching it. He had gotten the occasion during the past weeks to work on his gift but actually influencing a plant without touching it was something that he still barely managed to do without a lot of concentration. He felt the plant again, finding its life energy and using his gift to try to influence it. He concentrated on the top leaves, not paying attention to anything else. A surge of energy went through the plant at one point and he heard its leaves rustle right after. He smiled as he realized that it was not the wind that had caused this. He continued, feeling pride each time he managed to get the plant to react.

His concentration was suddenly broken by two fingers pressing on each side of his waist and a voice saying "Got you!" His eyes snapped open as an electrical feeling went through his spine. He instinctively backed away from the guardrail and, loosing his balance, found himself falling on his back.

"Owww! Alex," he complained at the girl who was doubled over with laugher, "Did you really need to do this?" he asked her.

"Just... making sure... that you can still be still be surprised," she said, catching and straightening up. She passed a hand in her hair to rearrange them. "Oh come on!" she added when he made a face, "You do it to me too and you like it, don't deny it," she added, bending over and giving him her hand to help him up.

"True," he replied, taking her hand and standing up, "but I know you forgive me," he added, pulling her into an embrace.

"And why should I forgive you?" she asked, smiling.

"Because of this," he said, before kissing her. They parted after a while smiling at each other.

"Don't you dare change Silverleaf," Alex said, gently tapping her forefinger on his nose, "Because I like you that way," she added kissing him lightly on the lips.

"You know that making out is actually frowned upon by school rules, don't you?" a voice said from the pitch.

"Oh no," Yannick muttered, grimacing.

"Did I forget to mention that Slytherin had booked the pitch after us?" Alex said, wincing in response.

"Yeah," he replied, "I guess you did."

"Are you deaf Silverleaf?" the voice asked. Some people snickering could be heard as it said this.

"I'm hearing you perfectly fine, Malfoy," he said, turning to face the group of Slytherins that were on the pitch. "As for rules, when did you start to follow them so tightly?" he asked.

"Better watch out what you say, Silverleaf," Malfoy replied, "I am still a prefect, so show some respect," he added, pointing to his badge.

Yannick laid his hands on the guardrail, looking intently at the Slytherin. "I show respect to the persons who deserve it," he said coolly, "And so far, you have not given me reasons to show any to you."

Malfoy took a step forward from the Slytherin group. "Oh?" he asked with a smirk, "Like you should get any for dating this excuse of a witch there?" he added.

"You have a problem with my parentage, Malfoy?" Alex asked, coming near Yannick.

"I was not talking to you, Mudblood," Malfoy shot back, "So what about that, Silverleaf? What will your family say when they learn you are dating a Mudblood."

"I date whoever I want Malfoy," Yannick said, not rising to the bait, "As for my family, they have already met her and they like her," he added, taking Alex's hand in his.

"A Pureblood dating a Mudblood," Malfoy snorted, "I am sure your ancestors would be proud if they learned about it," he added.

"You have no idea, Malfoy," Yannick thought, suppressing a smile. Malfoy caught his amused expression.

"What is so funny, Silverleaf?" he asked, "Care to share what makes my remarks amusing?"

"I am through talking with you, Malfoy," he said, "I frankly do not want to waste my time trying to reason you," he added, turning around to head towards the exit of the Quidditch stadium.

"Is that it?" Malfoy called after him, "Not even going to defend your honour anymore? I just insulted you and you run away like a cur dog," he laughed, "Pathetic! No wonder you cannot find the name Silverleaf in Magical History. They were just a bunch of cowards, like you," he spat.

Yannick froze at these words. He had not wanted to react to Malfoy's insults but that last one was just too much.

"Alright," he muttered, "Enough is enough." he added, unclasping his cloak and handling it to Alex.

"What are you doing?" she asked him with a low voice.

"I'm going to teach that peacock a lesson," he answered,

"This is going to land you in trouble," she told him, "I know that Malfoy is pushing the limit but don't let him get to you," she added, grabbing his arm.

"Alex, I can't let that guy insult my family and not react," Yannick replied, "besides, I am not in trouble unless I use a hex that is against school rules. And I don't intend to," he added.

"Just be careful okay?" she said giving him a kiss.

"I will," he answered kissing her back, before heading to the stair leading down to the pitch.

"Oh yeah, Mudblood," they heard Malfoy laugh from the pitch, "kiss your boyfriend good luck because he's going to need it."

Alex turned to look down at Malfoy and his cronies. "I would worry about myself if I were you Malfoy," she said.

As she said this, Yannick appeared on the pitch from the stairs. He was readjusting his ponytail so that it would not hamper his vision. As he let down his arms again, his rolled up sleeves revealed the wand sheath on his left arm. He stopped some meters away from Malfoy, crossing his arms and looking at the Slytherin with cold eyes.

"Malfoy," he said, "I warned you earlier this year what would happen if you would offence my family honour again. You chose to not heed my order and I hereby challenge you to a duel. Choose your witness."

"You're bluffing, Silverleaf," Malfoy said, suddenly looking less sure of himself, "Duels are against school rules, you know that."

"You should have thought about that before you insulted my family, Malfoy," Yannick snapped back, "Now choose your witness or you shall go without one for the duration of the duel!" he barked, making Malfoy flinch.

The Slytherin pointed at one of his team-mates. "Zabinni, you'll be my witness," he said, "Where is yours Silverleaf?" he asked, trying to sound confident.

As if to answer his question, Altair appeared from one of the entrances. He trotted towards Yannick and sat a few meters back. Yannick uncrossed his arms.

"Everyone stands 5 meters from the duellists," he said, taking out his wand in a swift move. As he did this he did the circle and slash that told the wand what move was coming. Then, facing Malfoy he drew the silvery 'S' emblem of the Silverleafs. The 'S' turned into a bright silver leaf a few seconds after.

"En garde, Malfoy," he said, bringing his wand at the ready.

Malfoy brought his guard up. The Slytherins that now stood back from him were whispering to each other, looking at the two duellists and waiting for one of them to make the first move.

After a minute of waiting, Malfoy darted his wand forward shouting "Expelliarmus!" The disarming spell sped through the air towards Yannick who slashed his wand, muttering an incantation and stopping the spell with a shield. Malfoy did not wait and sent another spell at Yannick, who stopped it again with another shield, but this time retaliated with a disarming spell. Malfoy defended it.

The two opponents continued their fight, sending and blocking spells. While Yannick stayed calm and defended, retaliating with non harmful spells, Malfoy seemed to have totally lost his confidence. Yannick was clearly not the kind of opponent he was expecting and he started to send more serious spells towards the Hufflepuff, who defended them with the same ease than before.

"Let's see you get rid of this one, Silverleaf," Malfoy said with a nervous smirk, trying to sound confident before shouting his next incantation, "Serpensortia!"

A loud bang was heard and a black snake of several meters emerged from the tip of the Slytherin's wand. It fell on the ground, mere meters from Yannick and poised itself in a menacing posture, ready to strike at any moment and causing some gasps from the students watching.

Yannick was shocked, wizardry duels were not supposed to harm its contestants, at least the ones he had participated to so far. But then, these were more school contests than real duels. Malfoy clearly thought otherwise and had already sent a number of spells that would have harmed Yannick if he had not deflected them. This was going too far. He felt anger rise in him and focused on the snake bringing his wand in a ready position in front of himself.

The snake had risen to its full height, looking at him in the eyes, trying to assess its victim. Yannick stood ground and did not move, returning the stare and waiting for it to make the first move.

"What's wrong Silverleaf?" Malfoy sneered, regaining his confidence at the lack of attack from Yannick, "Too afraid to even move?"

As if prodded by this comment, the snake drew back bit and then launched itself to strike. Yannick sidestepped to the left and then pivoted on himself, holding his wand like a sparring stick. "_Hyandae en'guldur_," he said while completing the move. His wand was suddenly enveloped in a silver light and seemed to stretch to double its size. Yannick completed the move and caught the snake in its middle, cutting it in half and causing it to explode a thousand little shards of light right afterwards.

Not pausing he faced Malfoy again; the Slytherin was looking at him with round eyes and a gaping mouth. He had clearly not expected such reaction from Yannick.

"Expelliarmus!" Yannick said. His spell caught Malfoy off guard and the Slytherin's wand came in Yannick's hand. Malfoy looked alarmed. He was weapon less and clearly expected Yannick to send him a spell.

"End of duel," Yannick said walking towards Malfoy, Altair following him, "looks like I win, Malfoy," he said when he reached the Slytherin, "Now know this, don't you ever insult my family again. The 'cowards' you talk about have been fighting every Dark Wizard since Merlin's time and unlike you, they did not hide behind the power of their family when it came to battle. Insult my blood again and I will not show the restraint that I had in this duel and you will find yourself in the hospital wing," he added, tossing Malfoy his wand and turning to go to the stand where Alex was watching them.

"And before I forget, Malfoy," he said, "Do not even think about going to complain to a teacher about what just happened. Because if you do so, you will be the one in trouble, not me."

He walked out of the pitch and met Alex just outside the stand. She handed him back his cloak, smiling.

"I think the adder got his lesson," she said, "and none of the other Slytherins even tried to jinx you while you had your back turned to them. I'm impressed," she added, smiling even more.

"I was not trying to impress you," Yannick said, fastening his cloak.

"I know," she said, embracing him, "but I am impressed, nonetheless," she added, kissing him lightly on the mouth.

"I love you," he said, before to deepen the kiss.

"I know," she said when they broke it, smiling at each other, "on the other hand, are you sure that Malfoy won't denounce you to Professor Snape?" she asked, looking slightly worried.

"If he does, I will ask for both our wands to be checked for the last spells that were cast," he replied, smiling slightly, "and last time I checked, I did not cast any spell that broke school rules," he added, giving Alex a wink.

"But Malfoy did," she completed, smiling again. "Very clever Silverleaf," she said.

"Thank you."

"Alright," she said pulling from the embrace and taking his hand, "Let's find Cynthia and Sean and tell them what happened. Coming, Altair?" she asked the wolf who was sitting by them, patiently waiting for them to finish. The wolf stood uttering and joyful low bark and coming to join them.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Strike to the heart**

"Come on, Cho!!!" Sean shouted as the Ravenclaw seeker made a dive at the snitch again, "You can get it!!!"

Three whole hours and still going hard... This match was bound to be the longest and most hotly contested of the year, if not Hogwarts' history. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, the two best teams of the school, now head to head for the Hogwarts Quidditch cup and from the looks of it, neither team was managing to have the upper hand on the other, each being tied at 160 all.

Yannick and Sean were in the Hufflepuff stand and were cheering the Ravenclaw team together with Cynthia. The noise in the little stadium was deafening, and the commentator could hardly be heard. Their house was divided in between cheering for Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, although more than half the cheers went to the latter.

A number of fouls had been committed by both teams and Madam Hooch had to award several penalties to each, at one time almost sending the offending player, one of the Gryffindor beaters, off the pitch.

Cho was engaged in a heavy battle for the snitch with Harry Potter and so far, neither the two best seekers of the school had managed to catch it, but both knew that their team was depending on them.

Yannick had gotten under the impression that the two seekers were an item for a while, having gone to the Yule ball and to the Hogsmeade weekends together. However, at the last training session he had attended of the team, he had seen that Cho seemed upset about something and when he had asked Alex, she had told him that Cho and Harry had split. Right now it could be clearly seen that the two seekers were not allowing any opening to each other, each of them intent on catching the snitch.

One of the Ravenclaw chasers, Bradley, suddenly stole the quaffle from Spinnett and started to race towards the Gryffindor goals, he passed to a teammate who immediately passed it back to him. The Ravenclaw students were cheering their chasers to score. Bradley sped towards the goal and shot the quaffle towards one of the hoops, only to have his try stopped by the Gryffindor keeper, Ron Weasley.

The Gryffindor stands erupted in cheers at the save and the 'Weasley is our king' chant started again, to boost their keeper's confidence. The Gryffindor chasers sped towards the Ravenclaw hoops, in another attempt to score. The Ravenclaw beaters started to send the bludgers in their direction forcing them to make some dodges, but the chasers kept on advancing, passing the quaffle to each other so as to throw off the Ravenclaw chasers who were attempting to steal it from them.

The Ravenclaw supporters let out a collective groan as the Gryffindors scored, only to erupt in cheers again when their team equalized the score a few minutes after.

"Way to go, Rogers!" Cynthia cheered.

"This game is unbelievable!" Sean said, "We are getting close to Pro League standards, right now," he added to Yannick.

"Yeah," Yannick replied, suppressing a shiver when he saw Alex narrowly avoiding an oncoming bludger.

"What's the problem, mate?" Sean asked.

"The problem is exactly what you pointed out Sean," Yannick said, "The match is coming to Pro League standards, but we are still in Hogwarts. None of the two teams have replacements and look at some of the players, they are exhausted," he added, pointing to one of the chasers of Gryffindor who had just fumbled the quaffle.

"Yannick is right," Cynthia said. "Three hours of intense game are not what we call a usual Hogwarts Quidditch game."

"Lets hope that Cho catches that snitch fast then," Sean said before to cheer as the Ravenclaw seeker passed in front of them, hot on the snitch's trail. The three friends soon let out a collective groan as Harry Potter cut her path, causing her to swerve and lose sight of the golden ball. The two seekers went back at hovering above the pitch again, trying to find the snitch once more.

The length of the game and the players' tiredness, and more importantly Alex's, was not the only thing on Yannick's mind. He had again gotten the clear feeling of being observed, again from the forest, and this time he had clearly made out the dark shape before it disappeared. This was worrying him. He had not had this feeling since early February now and he did not know what to make of it. Could it mean that Andrelith was watching him? Altair had not warned him of anything unusual and definitely not of a dark Elf hiding in the forest. But the forest was big and a lone wolf could not really hope to know every inch of it, even though Altair was not your average wolf.

He looked at Alex who was now teaming up with the other Ravenclaw beater and defending Cho from the bludgers that the Gryffindor beaters were sending her way. Should he tell her about Andrelith? How would she take it? No, it was better to not tell her. Andrelith had not done anything so far and it was highly doubtful that he would try something while Yannick was in Hogwarts. A sudden cheer from the stand he was in shook him from his thoughts, Ravenclaw had scored and was now in the lead with twenty points.

"If only this snitch could be finally caught," Yannick thought.

Just as he had this thought, Sean nudged him with his elbow, pointing towards one of the Ravenclaw hoops. Hovering in the middle of the hoop was the golden snitch. Yannick heard several person gasp as they too saw the snitch. He looked around, trying to see where Cho was on the pitch and was relieved to see her already speeding towards the golden ball.

The Ravenclaw stands started to roar with encouragement for their seeker. Cho was now mere meters from the snitch, which had started to try to escape by flying down towards the ground, following the pole closely. The Ravenclaw seeker followed the snitch, her right hand outstretched in front of her to catch it. A sudden blur of red and gold passed in front of her.

"No!" Yannick heard Sean say.

The snitch had disappeared, but flying back in a comfortable loop was Harry Potter. He was looking clearly exhausted but his face sported a victorious smile. His arm was brandished above his head, holding the golden snitch in his hand. The Gryffindor stands erupted with cheers. Yannick heard Cynthia sob and saw her taking refuge in Sean's arms. Gryffindor had won the match and the yearly Quidditch cup by beating Ravenclaw, 420 to 190.

Yannick looked at Cho. The Ravenclaw seeker seemed to be positively fuming and he was sure that if her eyes could have been shooting lightning bolts, Potter's broom would have already burst into flames.

The Gryffindor team was now doing a victory scrummage on the pitch, soon joined by their cheering house mates. Harry and the rest of the team were hoisted on shoulders and paraded back towards the Hogwarts castle. It had been a tough and intense game and in Yannick's opinion, Gryffindor deserved that win.

"But I am in for some serious comforting this evening," he thought as he looked at the Ravenclaw team making their way slowly to the changing rooms. Alex was bound to take this defeat hard.

"Alex?" Yannick called in the small courtyard, "Are you there?"

"No," a sad voice answered from on of the corners of the yard.

Yannick sighed internally, he had been expecting her to take it hard, but she was more depressed by the loss that he thought she would be. He started to walk in direction of the voice.

"Please Nick," Alex pleaded, "I just want to be left alone."

"Try to be more convincing the next time you say that," he replied softly as he reached her. She was sitting on a bench, her back to a pillar on the side and her legs brought back to her chest, her face buried in her crossed arms.

"Why did you come?" she asked, "I told Cynthia I wanted to be alone."

"Did you really think I would leave you alone in that state?" he asked her, sitting next to her.

"If you cared, you would," she replied, bitterly.

"Hey," he said, touching her arm softly, "How could I?"

She lifted her head and looked at him with tearful eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"You were there when I needed you," he said, "What kind of guy would I be if I left you by yourself when you need me?"

Tears started to run down on her face and she buried it again in her arms. "I'm a failure," she said.

"Why do you say that?" he asked, gently taking her in a comforting embrace.

"We lost," she replied, "We could have won. I should have played better," she added.

"Alex, you played great," he told her, "So did the rest of your team." he added, gently rocking her.

"Not true," she countered sullenly, "we were dreadful."

"Oh come on Alex," he said, "Name me another team that managed to play an almost four hours long match against Gryffindor." he asked her. She did not answer.

"You see my point?" he asked, "Your team played great all along. You guys pulled a performance that was close to Pro League standards," he told her, "I know it might sound harsh but, you guys lost. So? What's the big deal? You still gave Gryffindor the toughest match they ever had and you came in proud second. Don't tell me that losing just one match in a season is a poor performance."

Yannick could feel her relax a bit but she still did not answer him.

"What else is wrong?" he asked, gently stroking her hair.

"Nothing," she answered, "I overreacted I guess."

He chuckled lightly. "Yeah and to tell you the truth I had expected it," he answered, "I knew how important this match was for you. I am just here to make sure you do not turn yourself into a martyr because of it," he added.

He felt her laugh at that. "Thanks," she answered, "Can we stay like this for a bit?" she asked, hugging him tighter.

"Whatever you want," he asked, kissing the top of her head.

He kept her nestled in his arms for a long moment, gradually feeling her becoming less tense and relaxing. He loved being with her this way, just together, enjoying each other's presence and not needing to talk. His thoughts were suddenly broken by a faraway howl from the forbidden forest.

"Altair?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Yannick replied, "That's his hunt howl. He must have found his dinner," he added.

"Lucky him," she replied, "Are there lots of wolves near Silverleaf manor?"

"Actually, there are a few and they form a small pack," he replied.

"And Altair is part of it?"

"No, he is not," he answered, "You see, Altair is from a wolf pack that has been near the forest Elves since they settled there. Many wolves from that pack have been known to befriend Elves, becoming very loyal companions. The wolf companion of my ancestor, Aidan Silverleaf, came from that pack as well."

"Wow," she said, "So you met Elves too?"

He chuckled. "The only Elf I know is Gran, Alex," he answered, "I never went to visit them."

"So how did you bond with Altair?" she asked.

"That was Gran's idea," he answered, "A kind of a test, you can say."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what Gran did was this; let three wolf cubs free in Silverleaf Manor, not letting me know about it, or anyone actually," he said, "The test was to see if I would find one of them."

"And you found Altair?"

"In less than 15 minutes," Yannick replied, "I was thrilled to discover him and so was he. He literally jumped on me when I found him. It was a very nice experience. I felt like I had found a long lost friend."

"So he is more than just a wolf," she said.

"I think you could see this for yourself, no?" he replied, "We understand each other perfectly and he understands people that talk to him. He is immune to some magical charms and cannot be fooled by someone hiding his intentions. The bond we share together is so strong that we feel each other's feelings and can find each other very fast."

"That is how he found you during the storm,"

"Yes," Yannick replied, "He also managed to warn me of danger just before the willow hit me. So in a way I was able to brace a bit before the hit."

The sound of a growling stomach interrupted him. Yannick looked at her.

"Did you eat dinner?" he asked.

"Not really hungry," she replied.

"Oh nice try Alex," he said, giving her a small squeeze with his arms, "But don't try to pull the 'not hungry' stunt on me. I have used it too many times to be fooled by it. Beside, that was not my stomach," he pointed out.

"I doubt that there is any food left in the Great Hall at this time," she said.

"In the Great Hall, no," he replied, "But in the kitchen, for sure," he added, standing up.

"You can enter there?" she asked him.

"Of course," he replied, "House Elves are very friendly if you treat them well and besides, our common room is right next to it," he added, helping her up.

"I knew there had to be some advantages of being Hufflepuff," she said smiling.

"You have no idea," he said, leading the way to the castle's kitchen.

A shadow was moving in the now dark forbidden forest. The young one had seen him observing him during the game, but did he truly know who he was? Doubtful. Knowing the way the traitor acted she would have tried to shield her young from knowledge in a pathetic attempt to protect them.

He knew that he could not do anything while the young one was in Hogwarts. But he knew that very soon, the one called Voldemort would make his move against his target. He would send his pathetic followers to capture the 'Boy who Lived'. The shadow knew that this move would enable him to make his own move against his target.

Yes, very soon, revenge would be his.

"These tests are going to be my doom!" Sean said as he and Yannick entered the Hufflepuff common room in the late afternoon of the last day of May.

"Come on, Sean," Yannick said, "You just went through your OWLS last year. Surely the ones of this year can't be that bad. See them as practice before your NEWTS next year," he added, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Yeah, but I still dread them," Sean answered, "Which test do you look the least forward to?"

"Me? Potions," Yannick answered, "I am only in that class because I want to become an Auror. On the other hand I am looking forward to the Transfiguration test. I really feel I have improved this year."

"Me too," Sean said, "Professor McGonagall might be very strict on rules, but you cannot deny that she is a very good teacher."

"Very true," Yannick said, settling into one of the common room's armchair, "I am quite sure that you will do well on the Defence Against Dark Arts test."

"Thanks," Sean said, taking the opposite seat, "I guess I can say the same for you, seeing that you have better scores than me in it. The herbology one should be no problems for you either."

"Yeah, I guess not."

The two friends continued talking as the common room was starting to fill up with students. The attention of the entire school was definitely on exams and this could be sensed most on the fifth and seventh years, who were facing crucial exams ahead of them. The two friends were joined by others of their year and all went on discussing what possible subjects could come up in the tests.

One of the students was sure that the Defence test would be to defeat a Boggart. This idea got very quickly dismissed by Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbot that they had already faced that kind of test during their third year in Hogwarts. This surprised Yannick as he only had learned how to defeat these creatures during his fourth year. He soon found himself helping some fifth years on Herbology while Sean and Ernie started to discuss wizard chess.

A sudden change in the mood of the room caused him to look up. The constant buzzing sound of the common room had stopped and he saw that most the students were looking at the entrance. Professor Sprout had entered the room, a worried look on her face. She walked to where Sean was sitting.

"Mr O'Maley," she said as she reached him, "I need you to come with me to the hospital wing. There has been an incident with Miss Swanson."

Sean's face went white and he jumped from his seat, rushing out from the common room.

"Sean! Wait up!" Yannick said as he went after his friend.

Professor Sprout followed them after having told the prefects to make sure that no student left the common room tonight unaccompanied.

"Cynthia!?" Sean said frantically as he and Yannick burst into the Hospital wing, soon followed by Professor Sprout.

The young Irishman hurried at where his girlfriend was sitting, looking distraught. She flung her arms around him as he knelt beside her and started to cry on his shoulder. The young witch seemed to have been flung around as her robes were torn in some parts and bruises could be seen on her face and arms. Her sister, Lydia, was standing near her, trying to comfort her as well.

"What happened love?" Sean asked her softly, stroking her hair, "Are you alright?"

She nodded in response and held him tighter. Yannick looked to the other persons who were present in the ward, Madam Pomfrey, the Gamekeeper, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I found her near the Quidditch pitch, unconscious and looking as if she had been thrown about by a troll." Hagrid said, gruffly.

"Who would do this?" Professor Sprout asked looking alarmed at the thought.

"Do you recall anything of what happened to you, Miss Swanson?" Professor Flitwick asked.

The young Ravenclaw nodded sniffling, her head still resting on Sean shoulder. Sean whispered something in her ear and she straightened up to look at her head of house.

"I... I was with Alexandra," she started, "We were heading back from the pitch, by the east entrance and suddenly there was a dark cloaked man in front of us. He seemed to have appeared from nowhere. He waved his wand and we were thrown to the floor. I tried to get my wand out but he sent me to hit one of wooden pillars of the pitch. After that everything is black."

"Merlin! Not another one," Professor Sprout said under her breath, loud enough for Yannick to hear.

"Not another what, Professor?" Yannick asked, "What is going on?" he asked her, feeling as if he and Sean were left out of something important. His head of house did not answer him but instead went to talk to Professor Flitwick on a low voice. Yannick was trying to understand what was going on. As he turned to look at Sean and Cynthia again, a sudden realization hit him. Cynthia had said that she was with Alex. He felt his entire body go cold all of a sudden. Cynthia was here, but Alex was not.

"Cynthia," he asked, already dreading the answer, "Where is Alex?"

The young Ravenclaw looked at him with sad eyes.

"I don't know," she answered, "Professor Hagrid said that she was not around when he found me. He said that..."

But Yannick was not hearing her anymore; he had already run out of the ward, in the direction of the Main Hall. Professor Hagrid called after him but he did not stop. He continued running until he reached the eastern entrance of the Quidditch pitch. The sun was setting, making it hard to see the ground. He took out his wand, conjured a sphere of light and started to search. There had to be something, a trail, a clue, anything.

The ground was worn out from the generations of students who had walked on the trail to go from and to the pitch. Many foot prints, both new and old could be seen. Whoever had done this had planned this well, he could not make out a trail. As he turned around to search towards the entrance once more, a glint of metal caught his eye. A small metallic shape was on the ground.

"No," he said as he knelt to pick it up, "NOOOO!!!" he bellowed as he recognized the only too familiar pattern, the perverted Silverleaf crest.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Showdown**

Andrelith had struck again and once more it was straight at his heart. He had taken Alex, the one person right now that he cared most for. Yannick felt frustration wash through him. Not again, not another time. The frustration gave way to anger as pictures of Gwen's murder passed again in front of him. No way, this was not going to happen again. Closing his eyes and clenching his fist, he let out a loud scream of rage that echoed in the evening air.

When he opened his eyes again he felt determination sweep over him. This was not going to happen again. He was not the ten year old kid anymore. This time it would be different. He started to run back towards the castle, letting out a howl to Altair. If Andrelith had decided to make this a hunt, then a hunt it would be.

There were very few students when he entered the common room and most of them were from the six and seventh year. They asked him questions but he did not answer and walked straight to his room. Sean was not there. All for the best, he did not want to involve his friend in this, it could turn out very dangerous. He went to his trunk and opened it, taking out his archery bag.

Professor Lupin had given it back to him a few days after the incident, but to prevent people asking him too many questions, Yannick had decided to not train on it until he was back in France. He took out the bow and bent it, adjusting the string and making sure it was taunt. He plucked it, hearing the familiar twang that told him the bow was ready. As he was taking the arrows from the bag, he heard the door open and looked up. Sean was standing on the threshold. His friend's face looked tired but much less worried than it had been on his way to the hospital wing.

"Cynthia?" Yannick asked.

"She's fine," Sean answered, "Shaken but fine. Madam Pomfrey gave her a sleeping draught and she is keeping her under observation to make sure nothing else is wrong with her."

"I'm glad she's okay, mate," Yannick said, gathering his arrows in a bundle.

"What are you doing?" Sean asked, entering the room and closing the door.

"I'm going to find Alex," he answered, taking out his wand.

"Are you crazy?" Sean asked, "We're talking about Death Eaters here! You-know-who! Cynthia described what she could remember of the man. Main striking feature, long white-blond hair, does that ring a bell to you?"

Yannick opened his mouth to answer but Sean talked again before he could.

"Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, who was caught last year in the Ministry of Magic with other Death Eaters," Sean said, "The same one that was sent to Azkaban and then escaped during the Christmas period. One of the staunchest supporter of..."

"Sean," Yannick interrupted, a bit too forcefully to his taste, "It was not a Death Eater,"

"It was, mate," Sean countered, "Alex was not the only person kidnapped today. Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom were too. And also by Death Eaters."

"Sean..."

"No way, Yannick! I am not letting my best friend commit suicide."

"Sean..."

"Lupin and other teachers are already on their way to rescue them..."

"Sean..."

"... They are more able to deal with that situation than you are..."

"Sean..."

"... You would just be in their way..."

"SEAN!!!" Yannick barked, causing his friend to look at him with round eyes, "Will you let me talk for Merlin's sake? Because I swear, if you continue with your speech, I will stun you where you stand."

Sean looked at him, not saying anything anymore.

"Now," Yannick continued, "Alex was not taken by Death Eaters. It was by someone else. Someone cunning enough to have done it exactly when Death Eaters struck. Professor Lupin and the rest will not find Alex with the others. If I just wait here, she will be dead by next morning."

"How are you so sure?" Sean asked.

"Because I found this on the spot Alex and Cynthia were attacked," Yannick said, tossing the perverted crest to his friend.

"Another crest?"

"Yes. I learned during the holidays from where it comes from," Yannick answered, "It would take me too long to explain you but I know this, if I do not find him, Alex will not survive the night."

"So you plan to rescue her by shooting that person with blunt arrows?" Sean asked sarcastically.

"Not quite," Yannick replied before to wave his wand at the arrows, "_Hosta pilin'ea_!" ()

The arrows glowed red when the spell hit them and soon after, each had an arrowhead. He held up the arrows for Sean to see.

"So much for blunt arrows," Sean muttered, "Was that the stuff you were practicing in empty classrooms for the past months?"

Yannick nodded. "That and other spells," he said, "To make a long story short, the Silverleaf family has Elven ancestors. This means that some of us are able to master and use Elven magic. I am one of those and recently discovered that after my accident with the Whomping Willow."

"Sounds kind a bit far fetched to me, but I buy it," Sean said.

"I promise I'll clear things up when this is over," Yannick said, putting his arrows in their quiver and picking up his bow.

"You'd better," Sean said, grinning and taking his cloak, "Lets get going then."

"Wait," Yannick said, "You don't really think that I am letting you come with me, do you?"

"Hey," Sean said, "That creep took a hit at my girlfriend. I want to give him some payback."

"We are talking about a powerful Dark Elf here, Sean," Yannick said.

"And you think I will let you face him alone?" Sean asked, "Dream on!"

"Altair will be with me," he said, "So I wont be alone."

"Three are always better than two," Sean said, crossing his arms.

Yannick sighed and rolled his eyes. "You are not going to let go of it, right?" he asked is friend.

"Not unless you stun me." Sean replied.

"Stubborn Irish," Yannick muttered, taking something in his trunk.

"Love you too," Sean said, grinning, "So we go?"

"Yeah," Yannick said, closing the trunk's lid, "But you take this," he said, standing up and handing Sean an Elven dagger.

His friend let out an appreciative whistle at the weapon. "Wow! Very nice one," he said.

"Gift from my relative," Yannick said, holstering his wand. "Lets go." he added, opening the door of their room.

"You don't really want to go out this way, mate," Sean said, "The prefects sent everyone to their rooms and there are two of them keeping watch in the common room to make sure no students go out."

Yannick swore under his breath and closed the door quietly. "So how do we get out?" he asked his friend.

Sean pointed to the window behind him. "Still have your rope?" he asked.

"Of course," Yannick said, "Why did I not think of it before?"

He opened his trunk, took out a long rope and gave it to Sean who started to tie one end of it on the bunk bed's leg. That done, Yannick opened the window and looked outside. The Hufflepuff dorms for the sixth years were not that high and they would not have a long way to climb down. He made sure that no one was outside on the grounds and then let the rope fold down to the ground. He pulled on it with all his weight, making sure that the knot would hold. It did not budge.

"You first," he told Sean, handing him the rope.

Sean went down the rope without a problem and soon reached the ground. Yannick waited to see that he was clear of the rope before to go down himself, after having switched the light out from their room. As he let go of the rope he saw Sean looking at it, scratching his head.

"What's the problem?" he asked him.

"Well," Sean said, "I am just realizing that having the rope dandling like this from the window is a bit obvious. The prefects are bound to see that we have gone out that way when they check our room."

"Then I guess we need to untie the rope and take it with us," Yannick said.

"Oh? And how are you going to do that? Fly back up to do it?" he asked sarcastically.

Yannick smiled and took out his wand. "_Faine narda'_," (2) he said, touching the rope with it. The rope fell at his feet. "Elven rope," he explained to Sean who was looking at the rope with round eyes.

"Was Tolkien an Elf by any chance," Sean asked.

"Who?"

"Tolkien. JRR Tolkien. A Muggle writer. He wrote a book called 'The Lord of the Rings', very good fantasy book. There is a part in there where something similar happens with an Elven rope." Sean explained.

Yannick chuckled. "Maybe," he said, "I do not know him but I am sure Gran would know about it. She's quite an avid reader. I'll ask her next time I see her."

"Very handy trick if you ask me," Sean said, "Only problem is that we will have to get back in by the main entrance. I do not want to think of what Prof Sprout will do to us when that happens." he added.

"The only way we get back is with Alex," Yannick said seriously, "And I'll be ready to face anything when that happens." he added.

A howl was heard from the forest.

"Altair's found a trail and he's waiting for us," he said, "Lets get going before it gets too dark."

Her wrists were hurting from the ropes that binded them and she had no clue where she was. Somewhere in the forest and tied to a tree, that was for sure. The last thing she could remember was that dark man, a Death Eater from the looks of it, attacking Cynthia and herself. After that everything had gone blank and she had regained conciousness some time ago or so to find herself where she was now. For the moment she had been alone but she knew that it was unlikely that her attacker was gone.

She had tried to wriggle free of her bonds but whoever had tied them had done a good job. She also suspected the rope to be magical in some way as she had started to feel the bonds tightening when she tried too hard to break free. Her wand was gone too. She had not gotten any time to take it out but she could not feel it in its usual place.

She had not been able to see Cynthia either. Did that mean that her friend had somehow escaped? Had she been able to warn others? The teachers? Yannick? She really hoped so. But something was not making sense, why had she been kidnapped in the first place? What value could a Death Eater see in doing this? It was not like that this would cause Potter and his friends to come to the rescue, she hardly knew them and besides she was not even in the same house. She was still trying to figure the reason when a thought hit her, was it because she was Muggle born? That last question left her with a cold feeling in her gut. She had heard about the Muggle killings that had occurred during You-know-who's first reign of terror. Was this the start of a new reign, now that he was back to his former power?

"Little bird thinking hard?" a voice asked.

She jumped in surprise and looked in its direction. Her kidnapper stood a few meters from her, with his shoulder resting against a tree. He still had his hood on but she could make out white hair, steel gray eyes and smirk of amusement on his face. How long had he been observing her?

"Who are you?" she asked, trying not to sound afraid.

"You do not need to know," the man answered. Alex noted that he had a strange accent. He was not English. A foreigner?

"What do you want from me?"

"I want you to stay here and serve your purpose," he answered. "I must say that you make a very nice bait."

"A bait?" she asked, "Because you think that someone will come to rescue me?" she added, trying to sound defiant.

The man chuckled. "I assure you, someone will," he said.

"If you are hoping to catch Potter and his friends for your Master, you can think again," she said, "I hardly know them. I am not important to them."

"Who said I was after the puny little Potter?" the man laughed, "I know the one called Voldemort wants him, yes, but he has nothing to do in my plan."

"You're not a Death Eater?"

"I have nothing to do with this despicable little group and their power hungry master," the man said with a sneer, "I seek a power that they do not even know about. A power that is mine by right. And the one can lead me to it is on his way as we speak."

Alex was puzzled. That man was not in his right mind. Who was he speaking about? As she pondered on this the man turned his head at some sound in the forest. As he did this she caught a glimpse of his ear. It was not human.

"You're an Elf," she said, as she recognized it.

"Aaah... the little bird is knowledgeable. Interesting."

"You're not after Potter," she said, "You're after Yannick."

"Perhaps," the Elf said, "But perhaps not."

"You are losing your time anyway," Alex said.

"And why is that little bird?"

"Yannick is not coming for me," she said, "He does not even know I'm in trouble."

"Oh, I assure you he is on his way right now," the Elf said, "I did leave your friend behind so she would be found. I am sure that by now she has told them what happened, and the young one is on his way."

These words brought hope to Alex. Cynthia was alive. Yannick was on his way to rescue her. Was he bringing others with him? Professor Lupin?

"You seem to be relieved little bird," the Elf said.

"I am relieved to know that my friend is alright," she said.

"But you should be afraid now," the Elf said, taking out his wand.

"You can't kill me," she said, "You need me alive as bait."

"I would not be so sure if I were you, little bird," the Elf said, an evil smile appearing on his face, "I have killed others to further my plan. And I can assure you that you shall not be the last," he said pointing his wand towards her, "_Ringwe gurfha!_" (3)

A blue light emitted from his wand and sped towards her.

"Yannick, help!" she thought just before the spell hit her.

Yannick felt frustration going through him as he lost the trail once more. Andrelith had done a thorough job and he had been trying to make out the intermittent trail for the past hour now.

"Any luck?" Sean asked him.

"Nothing!" Yannick said, "It is as if he had vanished on the spot."

"Can Altair smell anything?"

"He would have told me already," Yannick said, "I think Andrelith used a spell to hide smell, or something like that."

"Darn!" Sean swore.

Yannick scanned the ground once more, trying to make out something where the trail ended. He suddenly hear Sean taking a sharp breath as if surprised.

"What is it?" he asked, looking at his friend.

Sean did not answer but instead pointed at Yannick's chest. A deep orange glow could be seen under his shirt. When he saw this, Yannick also realized that that he was feeling something warm on his skin at the same spot. He dug under his shirt and pulled out the reason of the glow, his wolf pendant. The silver wolf's amber encrusted eyes were glowing. The pendant was magical, Yannick now realized this, but what did the glowing mean? Danger?

He looked around, everything seemed fine. Altair had not sensed anyone around and the forest's animals did not betray any lurking foe. What danger could the pendant be warning of? As he asked himself the answer struck him. He had received this pendant at the same time as another person, Alex. Both of them had been done by Gran and both were made of silver and amber. His heart leapt. His pendant was apparently connected to Alex's. He went to Altair and showed him the pendant.

"Can you make out anything on this?" he asked the wolf.

Altair smelled the jewel for a minute and brought his ears erect. The wolf looked into Yannick's eyes and he could almost read the words, "I found a trail." Altair also did not utter his usual hunting howl that said he had found a trail. This told him that they were close. Close enough for Andrelith to hear a howl.

"Lead me my friend," Yannick said to the wolf's ear.

"What is it mate?" Sean asked.

"Altair has picked up the trail," he answered, "we follow him, quietly" he added, grabbing his bow.

Andrelith looked at the young girl not believing his eyes. His spell had hit her and she should have been dead right now, her heart frozen. But no, she was encased in blue energy and he could see a glimmer of orange light pulsating from her chest and growing more intense. Soon the orange light had overcome the blue energy and he could feel warmth radiating from it. The light pulsated and gained brightness, causing him to shield his eyes.

When it had dimmed the girl was there, still bound to the tree but alive and breathing. What sort of trickery was this? No human spells could stop the cold death curse. At least no silent spell and the girl had not said a word.

His attention went to the light that still shone at the center of her chest, deep orange. A pendant? How could he have overlooked the magical nature of this worthless bauble?

He closed on the girl who tried to put space between them. She was still afraid of him, good. He grabbed the pendant in his hand. It was a small silver rose with petals of amber and hung around the girl's neck by a fine silver chain.

"_Tanya wethrinaer_," (4) he said in Elven as he recognized the jewel's craftsmanship. It was the one of the blood traitor. Her, who had denied him of the power that was his by right. And now she meddled in his plans again by giving a magical jewel to his bait. An Elven jewel given to a lowly human girl. He closed his hand in on the pendant in disgust and yanked hard on it to break the chain off.

Things did not go again as he expected. Instead of breaking the chain he suddenly felt a searing pain in his arm and was projected a few meters away from the girl. The pendant was protected against theft and forceful removal, he realized as he was getting up. Probably the only person who could take it off was the girl herself. He looked at her and saw that fear had left her face. Apparently the reaction of the pendant have given her some hope.

"Do not get any ideas little bird," he said, "this little bauble might be protecting you against some spells, but it will not protect you against physical harm." he added, revealing the dagger at his belt.

The girl's eyes went wider as she saw it. Fear crept back on her face as she realized what was about to come. He saw her taking a deep breath and opening her mouth. His wand was in his hand in seconds.

"Silencio," he said, effectively killing the scream she had been about to let out, "No little bird, you will not sing right now and call the young one. First I will have a little revenge on you for being tricked by this bauble," he added, taking the dagger out of its sheath and advancing towards her. He saw her struggle against her bonds as he approached, desperately trying to escape the inevitable. Humans were so afraid of pain when they knew it was coming. No wonder they were destined to be ruled.

"You cannot fly away little bird," he said as he reached her, a smirk on his face, "and I am afraid the young one will find you too late to be of any help." he added, raising his arm to strike with the weapon.

Just as he was about to strike, an arrow planted itself in the trunk, between him and the girl.

"Touch her," a voice said on his left, "Make just one move and I swear that the next one will not miss its mark."

Yannick was furious. He was aiming at Andrelith with his bow, almost wishing for the Dark Elf to make a move so he could riddle him with arrows. How could a being be so evil towards life? Ready to kill a defenseless girl? Just to get to him? It had happened to Gwen, but his family be dammed if he was going to let this psycho do the same to Alex. Altair was at his side, growling and eyeing the Elf.

"Altair," he said, without taking his eyes off Andrelith, "Il fait un faux mouvement, tu attaque pour tuer." (5)

He heard the wolf snort, letting him know that he had understood.

"Move away from her," he told Andrelith, "Slowly."

Andrelith did not move.

"_Bela_." he said again, in Elven this time, "_Lenka_."

Andrelith still did not move but looked at him with hatred, as if Yannick speaking Elven was a blasphemy.

"_Sii'_!" he barked, making the Dark Elf jump a little. (6) He started to move back, slowly as he had been told. Yannick kept his bow trained on him.

"Stop," he said when the elf was several meters away. Andrelith did not stop.

"I said STOP!" Yannick barked, releasing the arrow. It hit the trunk behind Andrelith, passing mere centimeters from his head. The Dark Elf froze.

"Do not try my patience right now, you filth," he said, aiming again with a new arrow, "Now don't move."

"What now?" Sean asked, his wand out and pointed at the Elf.

"You go and release Alex," Yannick told him, "And get her rid of this silencing charm that this scum cast on her."

He heard Sean move and saw him from the corner of his eye going to where Alex was tied up. Sean took out the Elven dagger Yannick had given him and cut the ropes that were binding her.

"Finite incentanem," Yannick heard him say.

"Ugh! I swear," Alex cursed, "Give me wand and I will curse this worthless piece of trash to oblivion."

"Are you okay Alex?" Yannick asked, still looking at the Dark Elf.

"I'll live," she said, "Thanks to you three,"

He heard some stumbling.

"Whoa!" he heard Sean say, "Looks like these ropes were a bit too tight. Let me help you."

"Sean, I want you to get her out of here and back to Hogwarts," Yannick said, "And warn the teachers so they can apprehend him."

"I am not leaving you alone with him, mate," Sean said.

"Just do it," Yannick replied a bit harshly, "I can hold him there with Altair until help comes,"

As he said this he turned his head to look at Sean and Alex. Altair barked a warning. Yannick's head snapped back to where Andrelith was. The Dark Elf had his wand in his hand and was waving it.

"_Bragollach en' templa_!" (7) he spat.

A ball of yellow energy formed and sped towards Yannick. "Danger!" a voice told him in his head. He let his arrow fly before to jump on his left, avoiding the spell which hit a tree behind him and exploded in a flash of light.

Pain shot through Yannick and caused him to drop his bow and kneel down to the floor. It felt like someone dying. Creaking wood behind him caused him to look. The age old tree that had been hit by the spell was falling down, and he was right in its path.

"Yannick!" he hear Alex scream.

He did not think and rolled on himself, getting away from the spot the tree was falling on. The tree hit the ground, sending splinters of wood and leaves all around. Yannick completed his roll and stayed crouched on the ground, his wand in guard position ready to send a spell.

"Sean, Alex," he called to his friends, "Get the hell out of here!"

Yannick cursed himself for having done such mistake. He knew it had been too easy. Andrelith had just been waiting for a moment of inattention in order to create chaos. He could hear Sean and Alex running, most probably towards Hogwarts. Altair was around as well and trying to locate Andrelith. This was a bad turn of event. Maybe he should have told his friends to stay and help but internally he knew that it would only have made them potential targets to Andrelith's attacks. The Dark Elf wanted him and he had no right to involve his friends in it.

He looked over the fallen tree trunk but did not spot the Dark Elf. He was stuck here with only Altair to help him. But maybe he could signal for help. The red flares had been taught to all students of Hogwarts after the Azkaban breakout, he could use them to show his position to any Aurors or teachers around. But then, this would also show Andrelith where he was. Deciding that having help on the way was better than no help at all, he sent out the distress signal.

Hearing an incantation he rolled away from the spot he had been, just in time to avoid the spell that had been sent. Andrelith had spotted him but a snarling growl told him that Altair had found the Dark Elf and was attacking fiercely.

He looked aver the trunk again and saw the two figures fighting. Andrelith had been forced to drop his wand but had taken out his dagger, swinging it wildly in order to fend of the enraged wolf. Altair managed to get the Dark Elf on the ground and tried to bite his neck. Suddenly, Yannick felt a piercing pain on his left shoulder and heard Altair yelp in pain, the dagger in now his shoulder. Yannick slid down on the ground, his back to the tree trunk and his shoulder on fire. He heard Andrelith utter a stunning spell and Altair went silent. The pain in his shoulder subsided gradually.

"You companion will be of no more help to you, young Silverleaf," he heard Andrelith say, "It is best that you surrender while you still can."

Yannick did not answer but fingered his wand nervously, trying to figure out what spell would be effective against the Dark Elf.

"Come on young one," Andrelith said, "Hiding is no use. Trying to prevent the inevitable is your mistake."

"And talking is yours!" Yannick said, shooting to his feet, "Stupefy!"

The red spell sped towards the Dark Elf who deflected it easily.

"Is that it?" Andrelith asked, "The vaunted heir of the Silverleaf line can only cast a puny stunning spell? Pathetic."

"Reducto!"

"Ah..." Andrelith said, defending the curse, "That is a bit better for a Silverleaf, even if your first ancestor always was a coward, never able to stand by his own and needing the blood traitor's help every time."

"Shut your filthy mouth you murderer," Yannick said, "You know nothing of my family."

"I know a lot of things that even you do not know, young one," Andrelith said, a sneer appearing on his face.

"If you say that you know, then you should leave the Silverleafs alone," Yannick shot back, feeling anger rising in him, "All we want is peace."

"Your ancestors should have thought about that when they denied me what was mine by right," Andrelith said.

"You're a murderer," Yannick said, "They would never give in to blackmail."

"I see that the blood traitor has fed you with the usual lies," Andrelith said, "Did she tell you about our bond that she so happily broke for the love of a lowly human?"

"Good choice if you ask me," Yannick replied, "Is that why you killed her father? One of you're own race?"

"Only because he refused to see the truth," Andrelith said.

"You truly are a monster," Yannick said, raising his wand, "_Aure_!" (8)

At this command, the three arrows that he had shot in the events suddenly burst in a bright flash, flooding the forest with a bright light. Andrelith shielded his eyes, surprised by the sudden brightness. Yannick decided to make a break for it and started to run in Hogwarts' direction.

"You sly little worm," he heard the Dark Elf say, "Impedimenta."

"_Tinechor_," Yannick countered, spinning on himself to block the hex, "_Koron en' naur_!" (9) he added, darting his wand in Andreltih's direction.

The Dark Elf's face showed some surprise as he saw the fireball speeding towards him. With a wave of his wand he stopped it, a mere meter from him.

"So," he said, studying the spell, "The little Silverleaf can actually cast Elven spells, impressive. But you lack the training to make them more potent. _L__ietha guldur_," he added, causing the fireball to vanish in a small harmless explosion.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Yannick said sarcastically.

"You need someone more able to train you than yourself," Andrelith said.

"Oh, and who would that be? You?" Yannick asked.

The Dark Elf nodded.

"Sorry," Yannick replied, "But the idea of being trained by a murdering psychopath is extremely unappealing."

"I could show you powers known only to myself," Andrelith said.

"Not interested," Yannick shot back, "Now, you kidnapped Alex to lure me here. Why?"

"Because your family has something that is mine by right," Andrelith said.

"I highly doubt that one," Yannick replied.

"Humans!" Andrelith scoffed, "Always unable to see the power that is right in front of their eyes."

"I have no clue what you are talking about."

"Oh yes you do," Andrelith said, "You just have been told by the blood traitor to not reveal it"

"You're crazy," Yannick spat.

"Am I? Maybe," Andrelith replied, "Now tell me where the scrolls are."

"I tell you again," Yannick said, "I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Very well," Andrelith said, a light smile appearing on his face, "I you will not tell me, I can make you wish you had. CRUCIO!"

The reaction caught Yannick by surprise and he had no time to defend the red energy that hit him in the chest. Pain shot through him instantly, causing him to scream. It was like having thousands of needles coursing through ones veins. His bones felt like on fire and he was certain that his scream must have been heard all the way to London. His wand fell on the ground and he was propelled a few meters back, landing heavily as Andrelith stopped the curse..

"Young fool," Andrelith said on a mocking tone, "Only now do you realize the folly of your actions. I am more powerful than you will ever be. Now tell me where the scrolls are and I will make your death quick and painless."

"I have no idea!" Yannick shouted, close to tears.

"You lie," Andrelith said, casting a new curse.

Yannick screamed again in pain as it coursed though his body, lifting him in the air and giving him the feeling of being on a bed of sharp daggers. His head felt like it was close to exploding and he could hear the soft chuckle of his tormentor, apparently enjoying his pain. After a minute that seemed like hours for Yannick, Andrelith ended the curse.

"I'll ask you once more boy," the Dark Elf said as Yannick lay there, still writhing from the pain of the curse, "Where are they?"

"Go to Hades you bastard!" Yannick found the force to say.

"Wrong answer," The Dark Elf replied, waving his wand for another curse.

A shriek from above interrupted him. Yannick looked up in time to see a shape falling from the sky right onto the Dark Elf. It hovered in front of his nemesis' face, wings flapping furiously and talons trying to rip the skin. Horus had joined the fray. Yannick was somewhat relieved to see his Aunt's falcon. If he was here it meant that help was on the way. He only had to hold on a bit longer.

Andrelith pushed the bird away, holding his left hand on his temple, where Horus had apparently managed to strike him. The Dark Elf sent a curse at the bird who evaded it nimbly and hovered a few meters in the air, shrieking in the evening air several times.

"Be quiet you stupid animal!" Andrelith said as he sent another curse at the bird.

Horus evaded the spell and came down hard on the Dark Elf, attacking with his talons once more. Yannick could not see all of the struggle but heard Andrelith scream in pain and go down to his knees holding his right arm. Horus flew into the sky, holding the Dark Elf's wand in his talons.

Yannick felt renewed vigor at this sight. Andrelith was wandless. If he could only find his wand then he would be able to hold him until help arrived. He saw his wand laying some meters away and moved slowly to reach it.

"Move closer to you wand and I swear I will kill you," he heard Andrelith say.

He turned to face the Dark Elf who was standing again, rage deforming his face. In his hand was another wand. Anger filled Yannick as he recognized it. It was Alex's. He now had a choice, either leap for his wand and try to defend Andrelith's curse or wait more until help arrived finally. He knew that he had good chances to die on both choices. While Andrelith's magic would be less powerful with another person's wand, Yannick knew that it would be powerful enough to kill him. He held the Dark Elf's gaze for a minute, feeling some force seep back into his body and then made a leap to reach his wand.

"Young fool!" he heard Andrelith say as his hand touched his wand. He rolled on himself and brought his wand up, facing the Dark Elf.

"_Lanta en' kalale_," (10) Andrelith said, darting Alex's wand forward. A bright silver bolt erupted from it and sped in Yannick's direction.

He was too surprised by the speed of the spell to cast any shield and just braced himself for the impact.

"_Vara tel' taurninin_!" (11) A voice was heard shouting in the evening air.

Yannick looked at the spell that had been intended to him. It was frozen in the air, stopped by a blue energy that was protecting him from all sides. His heart felt warmth spread inside him as he recognized the figure that had appeared on the scene, Gran.

"Stay away from my child, _Talant_" she said, pointing her white wand straight at Andrelith and moving to get closer to Yannick.

"Of course," Andrelith said, sneering, "Who else than the blood traitor would fly to the defense of a weak being."

"The only traitor I see here is you," Gran said coldly, as she reached Yannick.

"You can't stop me alone in any case," Andrelith said defiantly.

"She's not alone murderer," Rozenn aid emerging from behind a tree, Horus perched on her shoulder.

"And who might you be?" Andrelith asked.

"Funny that you do not remember me, you filth," Rozenn said coolly, "You killed my firstborn. And I will be damned if I let you do the same to my nephew," she added, her wand pointing straight at the Dark Elf's heart.

"It's over, _Talant_," Gran said, "You cannot escape. Drop the wand and surrender."

Yannick managed to kneel up and looked intently at the Dark Elf. He could see that Andrelith knew that he could not disaparate on Hogwarts grounds and it struck him as strange that the Dark Elf had not planned a way of escape if things went wrong. Just then he saw him waving the wand slightly.

"Expelliarmus!" Yannick shouted.

The spell caught the Dark Elf by surprise and Alex's wand came to Yannick's hand.

"Clever boy but too late nonetheless," Andrelith said sneering, "It is not over, blood traitor. I shall have my revenge and my right soon," he added taking out a spoon from his cloak's pocket, "Portus."

Both Rozenn and Gran sent stunning spells at the Dark Elf but he had already disappeared, laughing at their futile attempt to sop him.

"Not if I can help it," Yannick heard Gran say as she lowered her wand.

He felt relief wash through him. It was over. Andrelith was gone. He did not know for how long but he was gone for now. Yannick looked at his relatives. Thanks to their intervention he had survived.

"Altair?" he asked.

"He is fine Yannick," Rozenn said as she knelt by the fallen wolf, "He's wounded and stunned but he's alive."

Yannick let out a breath of relief. "Sean and Alex?"

"They are well," Gran said, "We met them on our way here, after we had seen your red flares, and told them to go back to Hogwarts for their own protection."

Yannick nodded and pocketed Alex's wand before to strap his own to its sheath on his belt. He then tried to stand up.

"Are you up to walking back to Hogwarts?" Gran asked him.

"I guess so," he replied.

Just as he said this, he felt his leg give away under him and he fell on the ground from exhaustion. He felt his head hit the soft ground and thereafter, everything went black.

() _hosta pilinea_ Assemble arrows.

(2) _Faine narda'_ Release knot. When said on an elven rope with a wand, will untie the knot.

(3) _Ringwe gurfha_: Cold death. Spell that freezes the heart of the target, killing it.

(4) "That deceitful one," he said in Elven as he recognized the jewel's craftsmanship.

(5) "Altair," he said, without taking his eyes off Andrelith, "He does a wrong move, you attack to kill."

(6) "Move," he said again, in Elven this time, "Slowly."

Andrelith still did not move but looked at him with hatred, as if Yannick speaking Elven was a blasphemy.

"Now!" he barked, making the Dark Elf jump a little.

(7) _Bragollach en' templa_: Explosion. Spell causes an explosion where it touches.

(8) _Aure_: Sunlight.

(9) _Koron en' naur_: Fireball. The name says it all.

(10) _Lanta en' kalale_: Lightning bolt. You really want to know what it does? Right, I though so...

(11) _Vara tel' taurninin_: Arch protection. The strongest Elven shield spell there is. Almost strong enough to stop the death curse.


	21. Chapter 21

**Epilogue: The End?**

Yannick awoke in feeling peaceful. He did not open his eyes but listened and felt his surroundings trying to find out where he was. In a bed, that was for sure and the sounds around told him that he was in Hogwarts hospital wing, early morning. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was alone in the box created by the drawn curtain screens.

He looked at his watch and saw that it was still early. Students would not be starting to go down to breakfast for another two hours. Looking at the date on his watch he saw that he had slept for more than an entire day. Those curses had done a hell of a job on him.

Looking on his bed table he saw a vase with a pearl white rose in it and smiled. Gran's way of telling him that she had been around. A small chocolate heart next to the vase told him that Alex had been there too, but he also remembered the kiss they had shared the day before when he had emerged from sleep, just before being separated and given a sleeping draught by Madam Pomfrey, who had sternly reminded Alex that he still needed to rest. He smiled more and wondered what threats the nurse had had to use to get the Ravenclaw out of the ward for the night.

He suddenly felt a presence on his right and turned to see a shimmering silvery white form taking shape next to his bed. His eyes went wide when the shape came into focus, enabling him to recognise who it was.

"Gwen?" he asked, not believing his eyes.

"Hello Nick," she replied, smiling, "I told you we would meet again."

"Am I in another plane again," he asked, looking around, "Because everything looks very real right now."

"No Nick," she said, chuckling, "You're in the real world. This time it is me that is not in my place," she added, giving him a wink.

"But, how can you be here in Hogwarts?" he asked, "I am not even sure you even are a ghost."

"You are right on that point, Nick," she said, "I am not really a ghost. Let's just say I did not go to the other side yet."

"Why not?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because you had not moved on and were still grieving," she said, "I told you that last time too."

"But how can you be here?" he asked again, "Aren't bound to the plane you chose to stay in?"

"Yes, I am," she answered.

"As for her being here," a voice said, "I would be the one responsible for that," Aidan Silverleaf added, appearing on the left side of Yannick's bed.

"How?" Yannick asked him.

"As you pointed out just before, Yannick," Aidan said, "Gwen is not really a ghost. She just chose to stay on a plane of existence and not go to the other side yet. This is why she actually looks older than when she died and how she was able to observe you from there."

"I could not bear the fact of leaving you with a guilt that was not yours to be, Nick," Gwen said, placing her shimmering hand on his shoulder, "You were never responsible for my death."

"After your ordeal with Andrelith, she contacted me," Aidan continued, "Asking my help to speak to you on last time."

"One last time?" Yannick asked, looking at Gwen.

"Yes Nick," she said, giving him a sad smile, "It is now time that I move on and go to the other side."

"Can't you stay?" he asked her.

"Nick, as much as I would like to," she said, "I'd be more a burden than any help."

"Why do you say that?"

"Look at it from this side," she said smiling softly, "How do you think Alex would react if the ghost of your first love stayed around? Especially seeing the fact that I can observe you at all times?"

Yannick pondered at what she said and understood her point. He blushed a bit at some thoughts he had on his relationship with Alex.

"You see my point?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"I know you love her Yannick and that is enough to tell me you have moved on," Gwen said, "I have seen the way you behave with her, the look in your eyes when you look or talk to her. It is the same one you had when I was around. You defended her against that Malfoy's insults. But most important, you flew to her rescue when Andrelith kidnapped her. You did not care for your own safety but went up against a dangerous Dark Elf who was much more powerful than you were and you got her out of harm's way."

Yannick listened to her, not wanting to interrupt that voice he had loved and who right now was saying so much truth.

"I can also tell you this, although you must already know it by now," she continued, "Alex loves you as well. But she does not love you because you are descendant of Elves, can master Elven magic, are a good duellist or because of your looks. She loves you because of who you are inside. Because you are Yannick, a young man who despite the loss he went through early in his life managed to move on and open himself again. A young man who is always ready to help or defend a friend despite the dangers to himself. A young man that is considerate and caring of others. And you know what Nick? These are the same qualities that I loved in you as well," she added, her eyes twinkling.

"Thanks Gwen," Yannick said, 'touching' her hand.

"You're welcome Nick."

"So this is goodbye then," he said, looking at her.

"Yes it is."

"Are you scared?" he asked her.

"Why would I be?" she replied, chuckling, "The one I love is happy and ready to go on in life. As for myself, I don't really see it as an end, more like a new beginning. Who knows what's on the other side? I'm eager to find out," she added, smiling broadly.

Yannick chuckled. "Always going for new knowledge," he said, "You have not changed Gwen. You'd have made a model Ravenclaw you know?"

"I'm sure I would," she replied, "Goodbye Nick. I'll see you and Alex on the other side when your time comes," she added, fading.

"Goodbye Gwen," he said, looking at her form disappear, "Thanks for everything."

Yannick stayed silent for a long moment after she had left. Pondering at what she had said. The memories of finding her dead body in the storm still brought some sadness in him but the pain that he had experienced for so many years now was gone. To know that she had now also moved on gave him more certainty that things were the way they should be. He suddenly realized that his ancestor's ghost was still at his bedside, not saying anything.

"Thank you very much for helping her to come here," he said, turning to look at Aidan, "To have been able to have this last talk with her means a lot to me."

"I know Yannick," Aidan said, smiling kindly, "I was well aware of the feelings you two shared before Andrelith took her life. I also saw the way it left you. This was the least I could do."

"And she was perfectly right," Yannick said, "I have moved on."

"I am glad to hear it my child," Aidan said, "I am also looking forward to teaching you more control on your treeshaping gift."

"You would be able to?" Yannick asked.

"Of course!" Aidan replied, "I must admit that I have not used my power in a long time, for obvious reasons, but I am sure that I can train you in the basic way of using and controlling your power."

"I would really much like to," Yannick said.

"Then it is decided," Aidan said, smiling broadly, "We can start as soon as you arrive at Silverleaf manor. Did you continue trying to use your powers while here?"

"Not as much as I trained at archery of learned Elven spells," Yannick said, "But I have been mainly trying to feel the life force of plants and also tried to influence it."

"Did you manage?"

"Not fully," Yannick said, "And only when I concentrated very hard."

"It takes a lot training," Aidan explained, "But it is not that hard to fully master either."

"I do have one question though," Yannick said.

"Yes?"

"At one point in the fight with Andrelith, he sent an explosive spell at me," Yannick said, "I dodged it but it hit a tree and caused it to fall. When the spell hit I felt a wave of pain shoot through me. I felt like someone was screaming. What could it have been?"

"Your power connects you to plants," Aidan said, smiling knowingly, "Whether small or big, you or old, you are able to feel them and their life force. I would say that you felt the dying cry of the tree when the spell hit it."

"Ouch," Yannick said, wincing, "It was not a really pleasant feeling."

"I know," Aidan said, "I felt it several times myself. You will learn to control that with your training."

"I really hope so."

"Yannick, are you okay?" a voice said.

Yannick smiled and looked at the origin of the voice. Alex was standing at the entrance of the box. His smile faltered when he saw the worried look on her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"I was hoping you'd tell me," Alex said coming to sit on the right side of the bed, "I mean, I leave my boyfriend last night, soundly asleep and today I find him fully awake, chatting lively with no one."

"Oh..." Yannick said, suddenly realizing that she could not see Aidan.

"Right," Alex said, taking his hand, "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, touching his forehead.

Yannick smiled reassuringly to her. "I have never been better," he said, giving her hand a squeeze, "But there is someone you should meet."

As he said this, he saw her eyes go wide and she rapidly stood up, looking where Aidan was. He turned to the ghost.

"I think you already know Alexandra Dewitt, my girlfriend," he told him.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Alexandra," Aidan said, smiling and bowing politely to the girl.

"Alex," Yannick said, turning to her, "I'd like you to meet Sir Aidan Silverleaf, Knight of King Richard the Lionheart and founding wizard of Silverleaf line."

Alex just stood there, clearly impressed by the ghost that had appeared in front of her. She looked a bit at a loss on what to do or say.

"Please," Aidan said gently, "There is no need of curtsy or anything of the sort. Especially given your relation to Yannick," he added, smiling.

Alex blushed at the comment but she did not sit back on the bed. "Thank you Sir," she said a bit weakly.

"I think I'll leave you two alone for now," Aidan said, "I'll let Gwenaëlle know that you are awake Yannick," he added, before phasing thought the curtain.

Alex stood there for a minute and then let herself fall groaning, her back on top of Yannick's bed.

"I hate when I react that way!" she complained, "I must have looked like the biggest of idiots, just standing there."

Yannick chuckled and caressed her cheek. "Hey, it's alright," he said, "You should have seen my reaction when he first appeared to me over the Christmas break. I was literally gaping at him."

"Was he offended?" she asked, looking at him worriedly.

"Not at all," he reassured her, "He actually was amused. He's very easy to talk to you know. Once you get used to the fact that he's a ghost, of course," he added, chuckling.

She joined him in his chuckling and took hold of his hand again as he stroked her cheek softly.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said closing her eyes, "I was quite alarmed when I saw your relative levitating you into the ward. You looked like you had been run over by a dragon."

"He hit me twice with a crutacius curse, Alex," Yannick said, wincing at the too fresh memory, "And he was about to cast another one when Horus arrived."

"You could have died," Alex said, looking at him.

"And you were in his clutches," Yannick countered, "He had made it look like a Death Eater attack to throw off pursuit. The teacher would have found you too late and he knew I would be the only one that would figure out who had kidnapped you by the evidence he left."

"So you knew what you would face and you still came?" she asked, sitting up and looking at him.

"Alex," he replied, cupping her face with his hands, "I love you too much to stand around while you are in danger and hope everything will come out fine. I had to do something, and I am glad I did."

"I'm glad you did too," she said, smiling before to kiss him.

Yannick lost himself in the kiss. She was here, with him, safe. Andrelith had been defeated, even if only temporarily and he had managed to rescue her from the Dark Elf's clutches. He felt his body go warm from happiness. He held Alex tight in his arm, feeling her doing the same. She broke the kiss and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love you, Nick." she whispered in his ear.

"I love you too, Alex," he replied softly.

They held each other for some time, until the sound of someone clearing his throat was heard outside from his box. Yannick smiled as he recognized the voice.

"You can come in, Gran," he said.

Alex was straightened up and sat on the chair next to his bed, still holding his hand. The curtain parted to let Gwenaëlle Silverleaf enter.

"I felt it was appropriate to give you two a small warning before entering," she said, smiling broadly, "Aidan told me you were awake, Yannick and I am glad to see you have recovered. I hope he did not startle you too much dear," she added to Alex, "He sometimes forgets the effect he has on people."

"It was kind of unexpected," Alex said truthfully, "At first I thought Yannick had lost his head."

Gran chuckled. "He told me about that too," she said.

"So, he was your husband?" Alex asked tentatively.

"He still is Alexandra," Gran corrected her gently, "Elves do not only unite for life but for eternity. Aidan took this to the letter. He chose to remain as a ghost until my time comes, so we can go beyond together. This demonstration of love surprised more than one Elf and it took the powers of a powerful Elven Mage to make his stay with me possible after his passing."

"Amazing," Alex said, "I did not know such spell existed."

"Elven spells are not really known to humans, wizards or Muggles alike," Gran said, "Only a few trusted persons know them and none but the true Elven descendants can use them."

"Like Yannick," Alex said.

Gran smiled. "Exactly," she agreed, "Yannick has shown he was able to use Elven magic and I am sure this was quite a surprise for Andrelith."

"Not that it did much good against him," Yannick said.

"I would not have expected you to be able to cast the fireball spell, Yannick," Gran said, "And Professor Lupin has told me that under his supervision you were able to control a number of other spells. This is not a small achievement for someone your age Yannick. I want you to know that."

"I was still lucky that Horus arrived when he did," Yannick said, "How did you know that Andrelith had struck, by the way?" he asked Gran.

Gran smiled and took a pendant from under her robe. It was silver and shaped like a twinkling star.

"I knew because of this," she said, "The pendants that you and Alex have are connected to it and so are others in the family. Your parents for instance have a pair with green jade in the middle. If something is wrong, my pendant will start to glow in the colour of the person in trouble."

"Orange," Yannick said, "It glowed orange, didn't it?

"Yes it did," she answered, "It was only a faint glow at the start, reflecting your distress. However, an hour after, it was bright orange, laced with blue, signal that one of the pendant had repulsed the cold death spell."

Yannick heard Alex gasp and saw her finger her pendant.

"How did you know that he would cast this spell?" she asked her.

"I did not," Gran answered, "I just knew it was his spell of predilection and decided to counter it."

"Wow," Yannick said, clearly impressed.

"Thank you Mrs Silverleaf," Alex said.

"I just wish you would have warned me earlier that my students were facing such dangers, Gwenaëlle," a voice said from the curtains. Professor Dumbledore was standing there. He looked tired but in a way also glad. Yannick realized that his adventure was not the only on that had occurred in the past days.

"I am sorry for that, Albus," Gran said smiling, "But as I told you before, nothing proved that he would make his move and I felt you had too much on your mind already."

"Well I am just glad that all came out well," Dumbledore said, "How are you feeling Yannick?"

"Much better than yesterday, Sir," Yannick replied.

"Very good," Dumbledore said.

"On the other hand, Sir," Yannick said quickly, "I am sorry that Sean and I did not warn the teachers of what we were doing. We were afraid that we would be stopped."

"This is quite understandable Yannick," Dumbledore replied with a small smile, "I must say that the some of the students in your generation tend to act that way on a regular basis. Somehow it has always managed to come out right in a way."

Yannick looked at him a bit puzzled.

"Mr O'Maley has already explained everything to me," Dumbledore said, "Your actions are nothing to be ashamed of and even though they did break the rules of this school, they also saved the life of one of your fellow schoolmate."

Yannick felt Alex squeeze his hand lightly.

"You and Mr O'Maley went up against a very dangerous Dark Elf from what I could understand from Gwenaëlle," the Headmaster continued, "Your actions have shown bravery and this is a skill that I have come to respect in my students. You will both get rewarded for this."

"Thank you, Sir," Yannick said, "Although I do not feel a need for a reward myself, I would like to ask one small favour."

"Yes?"

"I would like to ask that our actions are not announced to the school," Yannick said, "I would rather not have attention drawn to me and my family name and I am quite sure that the same goes for Sean."

"That is understandable Yannick," Dumbledore said, with a knowing smile, "Then I guess we will have to do this here. I already told Mr O'Maley that his actions had earned his house 50 points and I am glad to say that the same goes for you."

"Thank you Sir,"

"We have however one actor in all this I would like to reward but I am a bit at a loss as to which house to reward for his actions," Dumbledore said, "Could you ask him for me?" he asked Yannick.

"Uh... I guess so."

Dumbledore smiled and motioned to someone outside of the box. A little trotting was heard and Altair appeared next to him. The wolf gave a joyful yelp when he saw Yannick and went to his bedside, putting his fore paws on the bed. Yannick was too moved to say anything and just embraced the wolf. The bond between them had shown itself again during the battle against Andrelith. He had clearly felt the wolf's feelings and had experienced his pain when the Dark Elf's blade had wounded him. He now felt the wolf as someone very close, like a brother.

"Thank you for your help my friend," he whispered in the wolf's ear, "Without it we would have never found Alex and I am very grateful you were with us."

Altair gave a small whine and started to lick Yannick's face, causing him to chuckle.

"Hagrid took care of him yesterday," Dumbledore said, "And with Gwenaëlle's help his wound is now almost fully healed. He has amazing recovery abilities"

"I'll have to thank Professor Hagrid for that," Yannick said.

"So, Yannick?" Dumbledore asked, "Can you ask him to which house I should award those points?"

"You heard him," Yannick said softly to the wolf, "So which will it be?"

Altair looked at him for a while and then trotted around the bed. He sat by Alex and put his head on her lap. She chuckled and petted the wolf's head.

"I would interpret that as Ravenclaw Sir," Yannick said, chuckling and looking at Dumbledore.

"Then Ravenclaw it is," Dumbledore said, smiling.

"Thanks Altair," Alex said, ruffling the wolf's hair.

Altair closed his eyes and made a noise that sounded a lot like a sigh of happiness. Yannick could not help but laugh at his companion's behaviour.

"A true comedian," Gran said, smiling.

"But a very intelligent animal," Dumbledore said, "You are very lucky to have him Yannick. It is not often one can see such a bond between a wolf and a man."

"I know Sir," Yannick said, "I would not trade his friendship for anything," he added looking at Altair. The wolf looked at him with his golden eyes and Yannick knew that he felt the same.

"When can I get out?" he suddenly asked, realizing that the exams were still to be held.

"Madam Pomfrey said that you could go as soon as you felt strong enough," Alex said.

"And do not worry about your exams Yannick," Dumbledore said with a smile, "They will be taking place in two days. This should give you enough time to revise what you need."

Yannick looked at his headmaster with something close to amazement. How was it that he always knew what his students were thinking?

Yannick was sitting on the grass, his back on a tree and was enjoying the view of the lake, its water shining with the rays of the late afternoon sun. The rest of the final week of his sixth year had passed like a blur. The exams had come and gone and he had actually been surprised with the ease he had been able to go through them, besides the potion one. Now that these were over, he was enjoying the last day of the school year in Hogwarts before taking the train tomorrow for London.

And what a year it had been. At the same time that Alexandra had been kidnapped by Andrelith, a group of Death Eaters had managed to kidnap Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. Yannick understood now that the Dark Elf had used this in his advantage in an attempt to catch him. From the rumours that had been going around, a group of students that had been taking practical defence lessons from Harry had gone to the rescue, led by none other than Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, Harry's best friends. Professor Lupin had also gone with them.

The rumours were wild with the exact details and Yannick did not really care about them. All he cared for is that the students had managed to rescue their friends. He was shocked however when he saw Professor Lupin after the events. The Defence Against Dark Arts professor looked weary and haunted by something and Yannick assumed that all did not go as well as students said. To further confirm his suspicion, it was learned that a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher would come to Hogwarts by the start of the New Year. No name had been given but Yannick was sure that Professor Lupin stepping down had to do with what had happened that night.

But apart from that the school had somehow gone back to normal and Yannick was now wondering what he would do of his summer. Aidan had agreed to teach him further in harnessing his treeshaping ability and Gran had told him she would also teach him some more potent Elven spells, now that he had proven that he could master them. He was happy for that. He knew that troubled times were ahead. Even if Andrelith had been defeated and his wand taken from him, he was not gone and would soon be back. Anything that Yannick could learn would give him an extra edge against that Dark Elf, should he show up again in his seventh year.

"And the young Silverleaf continued to think and think and think," a voice said from above, "until he drowned in the sea his thoughts formed."

Yannick smiled as he looked up. Alex was standing over him smiling broadly.

"I thought you were packing," he said.

"I am done since an hour now," she replied, "But I also helped Cynthia. And now that I come to see how my boyfriend is doing, I find him yet again deep thoughts," she added, sitting by him, "You think too much, you know that?" she added, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Yeah," he replied, passing his arm over her shoulder, "I think you mentioned it once or twice."

"And what were you thinking about?"

"A bit of everything," he replied, "What happened this year, what I can expect for the next? This type of things."

"Quite a lot happened, huh?"

"Yeah, definitely," he replied, "But some of it is good. Actually most of it."

"Can I ask you one question?"

"Of course."

"I did not ask before because I did not want to intrude and then the exams kind of took over," she said, "But the day I met your ancestor, Aidan, you were talking to someone else as well, just before. Who was it?"

"I was talking to Gwendall," he said, smiling lightly.

"She was still there?" Alex asked in disbelief, "She died over seven years ago."

"I know, I know," Yannick replied, "I had no idea she was around until my accident with the Whomping Willow. While I was unconscious she came to talk to me. She explained why she had stayed, because I was grieving for her and was not moving on. I saw how she died. She proved to me that it was not my fault. My mother managed to wake me up shortly after that."

"So," Alex asked tentatively, "She is still around now? Like Aidan?"

Yannick chuckled and squeezed her shoulder affectionately. "No," he said, "Like you pointed out she came to see me again the day I woke up, after having asked the help of Aidan to be able to talk to me again. She had come to say goodbye. She had seen that I had moved on, that I had thrown away my fears and faced them. She thus decided to go to the other side and came to say goodbye one last time."

"That's nice," Alex said, "I am happy that she felt that way for you."

"She also said one more thing before she left," Yannick said, turning to face her, "She said that I was very lucky to have found you."

"She said that?" Alex asked, giving him a radiant smile.

"Yes," he said, caressing her cheek, "And she is right. I am very lucky to have found you."

"You bet you are," Alex said, pulling him to her and kissing him.

"Oy, Silverleaf!" Sean's voice was heard from the top of the little hill, causing them to part. The Irishman was standing there with Cynthia, grinning.

"Do you mind, O'Maley?" Yannick complained, "I was having an interesting talk with my girlfriend here."

"I could definitely see that," Sean said, "But can I remind you that the feast is in less than twenty minutes?"

"Alright! We're coming," Yannick replied, "Hungry?" he asked Alex.

"Actually, famished," Alex said, "Packing up really made me hungry."

"If I think too much, then you eat too much," Yannick said, "How can you stand on your broom, honestly?"

"Oh that is so nice!" Alex said sarcastically, pushing him, "Well you know what? Bet you can't beat me to the main hall!" she added, getting up and running.

Yannick laughed and got up, chasing her. In his mind one thing came clear. This was maybe the end of a year, but it was the beginning of a new life for him. And he liked it very much.

ooOoo

Well... that finishes this story. Hope you enjoyed it. I have a sequel to it, titled "6 Years After", which is in progress still but seeing the lack of responses on this one (2 for over 500 views...) I'm wondering if I should start posting it. Let me know if you are interested.


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